with me. “How are you feeling, anyway?”
“Dazed, I think. The last twenty-four hours have been… interesting. My boyfriend–um, ex-boyfriend–dumped me, I went to a bar intending to get drunk, was instead drugged by a creep, and taken home by a celebrity.”
“Your boyfriend dumped you yesterday ?”
She nodded against my chest and sniffled loudly. Great. Now look what I’ve gone and done.
“He said… he said…” She shook her head and buried her face in my side. I stroked her hair while she cried. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall apart.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I get it.” I really didn’t. This was why I avoided messy relationships. It was amazing how quickly I’d become uncomfortable. The conversation had started to feel forced. Now that I knew she’d be okay, everything felt… over. Must be time for her to go home.
“I guess I should be going, Xander. Thank you for everything.” As if on cue, she pushed away from me and stood. “Let me just go find my phone and I’ll call a cab.”
I rose to my feet. “I’ll drive you.”
“You don’t have to. It’s okay, really. I don’t mind calling a taxi.”
“And I don’t mind driving you. I needed to go out today, anyway. I have some errands to run. It’s no trouble.”
She relaxed and smiled. “Okay, then. If you’re sure. I’ll just go get my clothes on and we can go.”
“Sounds good.” I ascended the stairs to get dressed, my emotions in disarray. Why did I want to drive her home? I should have been happy she was leaving and call the taxi for her. It was… guilt. I felt guilty because I’d banged her when she couldn’t say no. And, if I were honest with myself, the fact that I didn’t know whether she would have come here had she not been drugged was a blow to my ego.
I had fully intended to take her straight home, but when we got in the car, I heard her stomach grumble loudly. I realized I had been a poor host. On top of everything else, Lily had been drugged, could have been raped and turned over to some human trafficking organization or killed, and then I had tried to starve her. Come to think of it, I was starving, too. I pulled into the nearby IHOP. Not glamorous, I know, but convenient.
Despite the gaping chasm of awkwardness between us, I found myself strangely drawn to her. She challenged me even while at her worst, and she exuded sex appeal. I wished I could read her mind, wished I knew if she regretted coming home with me. Not knowing, in itself, felt almost like a rejection, made the sex we’d had in my gym feel like it was only born out of convenience.
I cleared my throat. “What are you thinking about?”
She shook her head slightly, snapping out of it. “Oh, I’m sorry. This was a mistake.”
“What was? The restaurant?” I snorted. “I admit it wasn’t the best choice, but it was right here–”
“No, not that. All of this.” She waved her hand back and forth between us. She regretted meeting me in the first place. I was filled with self-loathing, an unusual feeling for me.
“I see…”
Lily paled, seeming to realize what she was saying. “No, I just meant…” She sighed. “Listen, I was at work yesterday when Michael–my ex–came to see me. He asked me to go talk to him in private, but I was working and told him I was busy. When he didn’t leave or say anything, I asked him if something was wrong. I looked up into his eyes and didn’t recognize him. He called me a frigid, manipulative bitch and said that we were through. He told me he was hooking up with Allison… that he’d… he’d…”
Tears streamed down her face, and she buried her face in her hands. I stared at her, at a loss for what to do.
“He’d been with her, behind my back, for weeks. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have not seen? She’d been cold to me lately, but I figured something had been eating at her. I just had no idea it could have been my boyfriend of a year that was the one doing
“Dazed, I think. The last twenty-four hours have been… interesting. My boyfriend–um, ex-boyfriend–dumped me, I went to a bar intending to get drunk, was instead drugged by a creep, and taken home by a celebrity.”
“Your boyfriend dumped you yesterday ?”
She nodded against my chest and sniffled loudly. Great. Now look what I’ve gone and done.
“He said… he said…” She shook her head and buried her face in my side. I stroked her hair while she cried. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall apart.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I get it.” I really didn’t. This was why I avoided messy relationships. It was amazing how quickly I’d become uncomfortable. The conversation had started to feel forced. Now that I knew she’d be okay, everything felt… over. Must be time for her to go home.
“I guess I should be going, Xander. Thank you for everything.” As if on cue, she pushed away from me and stood. “Let me just go find my phone and I’ll call a cab.”
I rose to my feet. “I’ll drive you.”
“You don’t have to. It’s okay, really. I don’t mind calling a taxi.”
“And I don’t mind driving you. I needed to go out today, anyway. I have some errands to run. It’s no trouble.”
She relaxed and smiled. “Okay, then. If you’re sure. I’ll just go get my clothes on and we can go.”
“Sounds good.” I ascended the stairs to get dressed, my emotions in disarray. Why did I want to drive her home? I should have been happy she was leaving and call the taxi for her. It was… guilt. I felt guilty because I’d banged her when she couldn’t say no. And, if I were honest with myself, the fact that I didn’t know whether she would have come here had she not been drugged was a blow to my ego.
I had fully intended to take her straight home, but when we got in the car, I heard her stomach grumble loudly. I realized I had been a poor host. On top of everything else, Lily had been drugged, could have been raped and turned over to some human trafficking organization or killed, and then I had tried to starve her. Come to think of it, I was starving, too. I pulled into the nearby IHOP. Not glamorous, I know, but convenient.
Despite the gaping chasm of awkwardness between us, I found myself strangely drawn to her. She challenged me even while at her worst, and she exuded sex appeal. I wished I could read her mind, wished I knew if she regretted coming home with me. Not knowing, in itself, felt almost like a rejection, made the sex we’d had in my gym feel like it was only born out of convenience.
I cleared my throat. “What are you thinking about?”
She shook her head slightly, snapping out of it. “Oh, I’m sorry. This was a mistake.”
“What was? The restaurant?” I snorted. “I admit it wasn’t the best choice, but it was right here–”
“No, not that. All of this.” She waved her hand back and forth between us. She regretted meeting me in the first place. I was filled with self-loathing, an unusual feeling for me.
“I see…”
Lily paled, seeming to realize what she was saying. “No, I just meant…” She sighed. “Listen, I was at work yesterday when Michael–my ex–came to see me. He asked me to go talk to him in private, but I was working and told him I was busy. When he didn’t leave or say anything, I asked him if something was wrong. I looked up into his eyes and didn’t recognize him. He called me a frigid, manipulative bitch and said that we were through. He told me he was hooking up with Allison… that he’d… he’d…”
Tears streamed down her face, and she buried her face in her hands. I stared at her, at a loss for what to do.
“He’d been with her, behind my back, for weeks. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have not seen? She’d been cold to me lately, but I figured something had been eating at her. I just had no idea it could have been my boyfriend of a year that was the one doing
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