“I never lied to you, what are you talking about? You know what, never mind. Go back to that snob. It’s what you like anyway, right? Anything with a wallet? Sorry, that was never me.”
“Why would you care? I was just revenge sex as you proved when you threw it in Greg’s face!”
“The only reason I threw it in Greg’s face was because I couldn’t stand it that he still had some kind of hold on you!” he said, slamming his fist on the desk.
“What?” I asked softly.
“I was in love with you, and you were still in love with your husband, so I was jealous. I was being childish and wanted to beat his face in, so I provoked him. And he deserved it for everything he did,” he said with a controlled voice now.
“You were in love with me?” I asked, more surprised than I had ever been in my life.
A waitress bounced into the room on tip toes.
“Harvey, love, there’s a problem in the kitchen,” she said. He stood up, and I walked out and back to my table. Looking back, I saw him and her standing close together in the hallway, and she straightened his collar before leaning up to kiss him. I turned away, my face flush with embarrassment when I saw him looking over at me.
I sat back down and immediately said, “The food doesn’t agree with me. I’m going to leave, but you stay and finish your dinner. My friend is outside to pick me up, and thank you.” I picked up my purse, not leaving Jacob with a chance to say a word and bolted, walking until I got tired. Finally, I called an Uber and took it to Tammy’s, whom I had warned with a cryptic text that I was on my way over.
“Oh it was awful!” I kicked off my heels. She brought out leftover pizza for me.
“Mmmm this is so good. Much better than that overpriced lamb,” I said through a mouthful.
“So tell me… What did Harvey say?” she asked, putting her hands together conspiratorially.
“He said he had been in love with me. That’s why he said that to Greg, because he was jealous that I might still be in love with him,” I told her.
“No!” she said, throwing herself back on the couch. “That is so romantic. So when are you going to tell him you’re in love with him too?”
“I’m not in love with him, Tammy.”
“The hell you’re not. You’ve done such a good job of avoiding him every time I bring up the subject. There’s no way you would do such a thing over someone you didn’t care about. See how worked up you are right now?”
“Well, because it’s something he didn’t tell me back then, and it’s pointless now, anyway. I didn’t speak about him because he’s nothing to me.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, and I knew she didn’t believe me. “How did he look?”
My insides twisted at the question. What could I say? Irresistible, mouth-watering...
“The same. He’s with someone now, anyway. Some waitress,” I told her.
“Oh, well. So I guess Jacob’s out?” she asked with a devilish smile.
“Most definitely,” I said.
“Perfect! We still have our girls’ nights!” she said. I laughed, and we continued to blab on about all subjects until I got tired enough to Uber home.
As I walked down the poorly lit hallway to my door, I saw a shadow moving and almost screamed but quickly realized Harvey sitting on my stoop.
“Why must you scare me half to death?” I scolded.
“Sorry, I’ve been here for an hour since I left the restaurant,” he said. “Can I come in?”
“Fine,” I said. I couldn’t fathom why he’d shown up, but the faster we got this over with, the faster I could go to bed.
“Won’t your girlfriend be upset you’re at another woman’s place?” I asked throwing my heels in the corner.
“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just- a mistake. Anyway, I came to talk to you about your boyfriend.”
“He was only a first date- and I cut it short,” I said.
