“So you heard what we were…” My cheeks grew pale as I gripped the bar.
“Kind of hard not to,” Jack admitted. “The first guy who showed up, you and him are together?”
I nodded, trying not to think about Neil at a hotel with the gorgeous Lexi. “For twelve years now.”
“But he wants to sleep with other people?” Sean asked.
I winced at hearing it said out loud.
“And that’s something you want, too?”
I glanced over at Sean, not sure what to say. “It might be a good idea. I mean, we’ve only—” I swallowed when I realized I had been about to tell them all about my sex life. “I didn’t expect it to be so hard,” I admitted instead.
Sean patted my back again. “This kind of thing can work, but you both have to be into it, and you both have to put each other first. You should talk with him tonight.” He rose from the barstool. “But that guy was no good. I’m proud of you forfollowing your gut.” He pointed a finger at me. “Keep doing that.”
Jack reached for Victor’s empty glass. My eye caught on the bold zero with the slash through it on the signed receipt.
“I’m sorry about all this. I’ll make sure I tip you extra to make up for him.”
“Can’t,” Jack said. “I charged him for your tab, too.”
My eyes jerked up to his.
He shrugged, his lips twitching. “Seemed only fair. Hang around for a bit to give yourself time to settle.” He glanced toward the side of the bar, where people were milling around the stage. “Besides, you haven’t enjoyed any music yet. You like music, right?”
I nodded, more tension releasing from my neck as I gave myself permission to stay for a while. I would sip my sweet drink, listen to some music, and shove my anxiety down long enough to catch my breath.
A guitarist was doing some kind of test on the stage when Jack slid a basket of fries under my nose.
“On the house,” Jack said, smiling when I began to sputter. “I figured some salt to cut through all that sugar I’ve been serving you.” He nodded at my third empty glass, adding a glass of water in front of me.
I considered protesting, but there was a settling inside of me that wouldn’t let me. I lifted a fry to nibble.
This first Friday hadn’t been easy, but not everything was bad. I was glad to have met Jack and Sean, who seemed kind. And I had a new favorite indie band to add to my streaming playlist.
Chapter 4
The First Friday
Neil was waiting for me when I got back home, and he was not happy.
“What the hell, Hailey!”
My shoulders tightened as I crossed my arms to face him.
“You refused to sleep with him? That was the whole point of tonight!” He raked his hands through his hair as he began to pace.
“Are you really upset with me fornotsleeping with someone else?” I asked.
He jerked to a halt mid-step, whirling around. “Yes! Yes, I am. That was the plan, and we both knew it.”
“I’m not going to sleep with someone just because I’m told to.” I hated that my voice wobbled saying it. I knew I wasn’t wrong, but still, I was worried about upsetting him. “That would make you my pimp, Neil, not my boyfriend.”
His mouth dropped open, and he looked away. “That’s not what it was,” he mumbled.
“That’s how it felt from my side.” My hands rubbed over my arms. “Look, Victor didn’t feel right to me. I don’t know where you found him, but he was a jerk.”
Neil winced. “Yeah, he kind of was. He made me nervous when he burst into the hotel room Lexi and I were in. His anger was something else.”
