“He has an unusual look.”
“Don’t you love it?”
“And there’s something unsettling about his art that I can’t put my finger on.”
“Absolutely.”
She lightly smacked his forehead. “He’s perfect. So why in the hell did you go to a bar with Royce when Micah was right there?”
Cosmo put his face in his hands. “I made such a mess of this.”
“Call him and fix it. It’s about time you found someone who’s good to you.”
“I said something very hurtful. There’s no way he’s still interested.”
“You don’t know that. He pleaded with me to come help you. He still cares.”
Cosmo flopped back on the floor and threw an arm over his face. “About my safety, maybe. Not about dating me.”
The silence stretched until Déjà said, “God, you’re so hot it disgusts me.”
What in the world was she talking about? His face was puffy from drinking too much, and he was wearing ten-year-old pajamas from Walmart. He sat up to find her scrolling through his phone.
“Hey.” He tried to snatch it from her, but she leaned away. “You have no business looking at anything on there.”
“You handed it to me to look at.”
“At my texts to Simone. Not my photos.”
“I can’t look at photos of you?” Her mouth pulled to one side. “Am I going to see your baked goods in graphic detail if I scroll too far?”
“There’s a cream pie in there somewhere.”
“Oh, gross.” She grimaced and tossed the phone in his lap.
“An actual cream pie. It was good.”
The phone rang, and he squeaked.
Déjà pressed her teeth into her bottom lip. “I texted Micah your new number.”
“Déjà!” The phone vibrated against the carpet, and he imagined Micah’s needy voice on the other end saying,I don’t know you, but I know you’re beautiful.
What was Cosmo going to say? He couldn’t let it keep ringing. Picking it up, he pressed it to his ear and said, “Hello, Micah.”
Nothing but breathing filled the line, and for a terrible second Cosmo wondered if it wasn’t Micah at all but Zedd calling with another creepy message. A throat cleared, and Micah said, “Hi.”
Cosmo tugged at the carpet fibers and stared at Déjà, who mouthed,Come on!
“You… You showed me the most vulnerable part of yourself. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you to go through what you have. That’s not pity, just a fact. And this evening I stabbed you right in that soft spot. I’m so sorry.”
Micah was silent for so long that Cosmo was sure he’d hung up. He finally said, “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have pulled you the way I did. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Do you forgive me for what I said? And for making a scene?” He cringed. “And for slapping you?”
Déjà made a strangled noise. “You did what?”
“I don’t know,” Micah said.
