Fuck. Now I want ice cream. Superman ice cream. Why? Because it’s the best.
I’m camped in my car, letting my thoughts marinate, trying to make sense of everything that’s transpired since the fateful day I ran into the hottest man alive in the fucking men’s room of all places. Then I had to go and fuck him. And now, I think I’ve caught feelings.
Feelings I don’t know what to make of. Feelings I shouldn’t be feeling because he has a wife and even though they’re signing papers to fix that, wanting him doesn’t sit right with me.
Then there’s the issue of his wife.
I had every intention of telling her to fuck off when she invited me to the aquarium totalk. Then I saw her sitting on that bench like a lost little emo puppy. In the four months we were together, I’d never seen her like that. Her shoulders were slumped and she was fidgeting with her hands, staring at the ground like it was going to do something. She looked… broken.
Then she had to go and tell me she loves me in the dolphin tunnel. I admittedly didn’t handle it that well, but what was I supposed to say? I love her, too?
I can’t tell her that.
Not because it’s not true. My feelings don’t matter. All they’d do is make things more complicated than they already are.
All things considered, I think I held my ground pretty well. I wasn’t the bitch I intended to be when I walked in, but I didn’t let her off the proverbial hook, either.
I almost gave in and let myself fall into her when she grabbed my hand, but I saw Hayes’ face in my head when I considered it and chickened out. I thought about it another five or six times while we finished our walk through the rest of the exhibits in near silence. Then one last time as we parted ways with one of the most lame and awkward handshakes we could muster. Like neither of us could bear to touch more of each other.
She did get one thing right, though. I do need something Hayes can provide.
My cheeks puff out, filling with air I’m nervous to release as I step out of my car and walk to the employee entrance of Gravity.
I’ll definitely deserve some Superman ice cream after this.
As I reach the top of the stairs to get to the offices, the door next to Hayes’ swings open and out pops Wrinley holding her heels and swiping her thumb across her lower lip to fix a very obvious lipstick smudge.I should tell her she missed, right?Nope. Not my problem.
“Demi!” she shouts when she sees me. “Here for Hayes, I presume?”
“No… I–”
“Don’t bother. I already know more than you probably want me to.” She rights her dress, pulling it down further over her ass and glancing over her shoulderat the door she just fell through. “My husband sees and hears everything. It’s annoying as fuck to be married to that psycho sometimes.”
“I fucking heard that,” a voice bellows from the other side of the door. “Try closing the door all the way next time, trainwreck.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it…husband.” she quips back and I raise a brow, unsure of what I’m witnessing. “Ignore him. He’s being a dick today and he knows it. Unfortunately–or not, if you’re my vagina–he likes to prove whatever point he’s trying to make by aggressively debasing me and hate fucking me into next weekend.” She leans in and whispers, “Sometimes, I argue with him on purpose, just so he’ll do it, but don’t tell him that.”
The office door flies open and her scary as fuck husband stomps out wearing nothing but black jeans and black combat boots. “Wrinley!” His tone is firm and unyielding, and her name is all he needs to say for her eyes to open wide and her spine to straighten.
“Demi. I have to go before my husband hauls me back in there and does something we’ll both regret… or not.” She shoots me a wink and struts past me. As she descends the stairs, she shouts over her shoulder, “I put my number in your phone at the wedding. Call me and we can chat aboutyourthings.”
I turn my head back to Axel. “Hayes is waiting for you in his office.”
And then he’s gone.
“Thanks, I guess.” I mumble to myself.
Grabbing the handle, I press it down and push the door open to find Hayes leaning back, head resting against the back of his chair, feet kicked up on his desk. His eyes are closed and he’s so still, he has to be sleeping.
“Took you long enough.”
Okay, so not sleeping. I’m slightly creeped out that he can sit so still. “Wait… how did you kn–”
“Axel texted me while you were out there conspiring with Wrinley.”
“We weren’t–”
His eyes pop open and he drops his feet to sit up. His hair is mussed like he’s been obsessively running his fingers through it. Like he does so often… especially when he’s stressed or thinking too hard. He’s definitely got a lot to think about. We all do.
