I nod. “How are your parents?”
“Yeah, they’re fine.”
Silence stretches. Then her eyes drop to the bracelet in my hand.
“Of course, you got the Cartier, It’s beautiful,” she says.
“It is.”
“Can I see?”
I hesitate for half a second. Then pass it over. She slips it onto her wrist, admiring it.
“It’s stunning.”
“Who’s it for?” she asks.
I take the bracelet back gently. “My girlfriend, Freya.”
She looks up. “Freya?”
I smile. “Yeah.”
Something shifts in her expression. She’s heard me talk about Freya and visit her from the city many times. She even met her once at a barbecue at my parents’ house.
“Oh.”
“Yeah we er… ended up together.”
She nods slowly. “Well. That’s… nice.”
“It is.”
We stand there for another second. Then I step back. “I should…”
“Yeah.”
“Take care.”
“You too.”
And just like that, it’s over.
I don’t stay long after that, and if I’m being honest, I’m already halfway out the door the second that conversation with Sienna ends. The room feels louder now, heavier somehow, like everything has been turned up a notch and I can’t quite settle back into it. The laughter sounds forced, the conversations repetitive, the whole thing suddenly feeling exactly like what I always thought it was. A performance.
I do my best to make a swift exit, weaving through clusters of people who are all too polished and far too interested in being seen. A couple of them try to catch my eye, probably gearing up for some kind of networking conversation I have absolutely no energy for, but I keep moving, offering polite nods and half smiles without actually stopping.
I find the lads near the bar and say a quick round of goodbyes, handshakes and back slaps, the usual.
“You disappearing already?” Noah asks, narrowing his eyes slightly like he knows there’s more to it.
“Early start,” I shrug, keeping it vague.
Scott huffs a laugh. “Since when do you care about early starts at these things?”
“Since tonight,” I reply, already stepping back.
They let me go, but not without a few looks that say they’ll be asking questions later.
