whispered nervously, to which he just nodded and turned the ignition.
When I got inside the apartment, I went straight to the kitchen, chose the largest mug from the cupboard and fixed myself a double measure of black coffee – no sugar. Sinking into a chair right by the window, I leaned over and let my forehead rest against the cold glass and took a few long sips of the bitter black liquid.
“ You are early. Thank God!” I heard Beth's chiding voice behind me.
“ Well, I had enough for today.” I murmured to myself and glanced over my shoulder, “Why? Where's the fire?”
“I’ve been trying to get away from Paolo. He called a dozen times in the last two hours, and he’s really starting to drive me crazy. I’ll be damned if there’s anyone who can talk more without running out of steam. He went on and on about our plans for Saturday night and…” she fell silent, not finishing her sentence.
“You look pale. Something happened?”
For a momen t I thought about playing dumb and saying nothing was wrong, but Beth knew me too well, and she’d spot a lie like that straight off.
“I ran into Tyler .” I sighed and closed my eyes, “He wanted to get back together.”
“What?”
“Exactly.”
“I can’t believe it! The self-centered bastard! How could he? You didn’t say yes, did you?”
“Of course not. But talking to him… it got to me.” I said quietly, squeezing the cup in my hand.
“I can imagine .”
Shaking her head, Beth drew close to me and hugged me from behind the chair, stroking my hair gently with one hand. Feeling deflated and miserable, only my stubborn streak prevented me from letting the tears flow.
“Don’t let that idiot get to you.”
“It didn’t even cross my mind. I’m just horrified that I’d let myself be taken in by someone like that.”
“You know what they say, you pay for every experience. Think of it as one of life's lessons.”
“One of ? ” I arched one eyebrow, disapproving, “No thanks. One is quite enough for me. As a matter of fact, I plan on staying away from situations that might turn into those life lessons you’re talking about, just in case.”
“Whatever you say, dear. Just... I have to warn you, things don’t always turn out the way we plan.”
“No shit they don’t.” I hissed bitterly and regretted it right away.
She was only trying to help, and I always acted like a spoiled bitch when I felt hurt. Nikolai was usually on the receiving end when I was angry, and with good reason. Bethany didn’t deserve to have anything taken out on her – quite the opposite.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“ Sure you didn’t. But apologies won’t save you now and you know it very well.” she put one hand on my shoulder and shook it gently, slowly pointing one finger in the direction of the sink, which was piled high with dirty dishes.
“Aw, come on! Again?” I shot her a miserable look, hoping she might take pity on me.
“Oh yes. And every time you prattle on like that, be ready to pay the price. That was the deal, remember?”
“You are one really evil person, you’re aware of that, right?”
“Yes, I am. “
She stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips, adopting the pose of an army general waiting for a new recruit to get to work. Despite the fact that I passionately hated washing the dishes, I rose up from the chair, rolled up my sleeves and got ready to do battle with crusted macaroni, burnt pans and whatever else I might find in the pile.
Heaven help me!
With the air of an explorer, I approached the sink and began to assess the task ahead, rummaging around to drain the dirty water and decide what would get cleaned first. Watching me from behind, Beth giggled, pleased to have played a winning card.
“You know, when I think about it, that sharp tongue of yours has its plus side.” she said, and made a point of examining her perfectly lacquered nails, “I’ll save a fortune on
When I got inside the apartment, I went straight to the kitchen, chose the largest mug from the cupboard and fixed myself a double measure of black coffee – no sugar. Sinking into a chair right by the window, I leaned over and let my forehead rest against the cold glass and took a few long sips of the bitter black liquid.
“ You are early. Thank God!” I heard Beth's chiding voice behind me.
“ Well, I had enough for today.” I murmured to myself and glanced over my shoulder, “Why? Where's the fire?”
“I’ve been trying to get away from Paolo. He called a dozen times in the last two hours, and he’s really starting to drive me crazy. I’ll be damned if there’s anyone who can talk more without running out of steam. He went on and on about our plans for Saturday night and…” she fell silent, not finishing her sentence.
“You look pale. Something happened?”
For a momen t I thought about playing dumb and saying nothing was wrong, but Beth knew me too well, and she’d spot a lie like that straight off.
“I ran into Tyler .” I sighed and closed my eyes, “He wanted to get back together.”
“What?”
“Exactly.”
“I can’t believe it! The self-centered bastard! How could he? You didn’t say yes, did you?”
“Of course not. But talking to him… it got to me.” I said quietly, squeezing the cup in my hand.
“I can imagine .”
Shaking her head, Beth drew close to me and hugged me from behind the chair, stroking my hair gently with one hand. Feeling deflated and miserable, only my stubborn streak prevented me from letting the tears flow.
“Don’t let that idiot get to you.”
“It didn’t even cross my mind. I’m just horrified that I’d let myself be taken in by someone like that.”
“You know what they say, you pay for every experience. Think of it as one of life's lessons.”
“One of ? ” I arched one eyebrow, disapproving, “No thanks. One is quite enough for me. As a matter of fact, I plan on staying away from situations that might turn into those life lessons you’re talking about, just in case.”
“Whatever you say, dear. Just... I have to warn you, things don’t always turn out the way we plan.”
“No shit they don’t.” I hissed bitterly and regretted it right away.
She was only trying to help, and I always acted like a spoiled bitch when I felt hurt. Nikolai was usually on the receiving end when I was angry, and with good reason. Bethany didn’t deserve to have anything taken out on her – quite the opposite.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“ Sure you didn’t. But apologies won’t save you now and you know it very well.” she put one hand on my shoulder and shook it gently, slowly pointing one finger in the direction of the sink, which was piled high with dirty dishes.
“Aw, come on! Again?” I shot her a miserable look, hoping she might take pity on me.
“Oh yes. And every time you prattle on like that, be ready to pay the price. That was the deal, remember?”
“You are one really evil person, you’re aware of that, right?”
“Yes, I am. “
She stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips, adopting the pose of an army general waiting for a new recruit to get to work. Despite the fact that I passionately hated washing the dishes, I rose up from the chair, rolled up my sleeves and got ready to do battle with crusted macaroni, burnt pans and whatever else I might find in the pile.
Heaven help me!
With the air of an explorer, I approached the sink and began to assess the task ahead, rummaging around to drain the dirty water and decide what would get cleaned first. Watching me from behind, Beth giggled, pleased to have played a winning card.
“You know, when I think about it, that sharp tongue of yours has its plus side.” she said, and made a point of examining her perfectly lacquered nails, “I’ll save a fortune on
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