My apartment is small, just one bedroom and one and a half baths. The eat-in kitchen is separated by a wall from the living room, and the living room is just big enough for my fluffy green couch, where I read. I have a TV hooked up on a stand across the room, but I don’t normally watch it, since I read so much all the time.
“I was reading. I like it quiet when I read.” I do like it quiet when I read, but from time to time, I’ll play music, especially if an author I love has a playlist attached to their book.
“You’re always reading.” She rolls her eyes toward the ceiling then drops them back down to me, getting an odd light in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. “So you left with Gareth last night.”
Holy crap, she knows. My fingers clench around the cold cup I’m holding, making the ice clink together. Of course she knows. I told Uncle Trevor who my ride was when he asked, and he obviously told her. “Umm….”
“Seriously, I hope you got his number,” she states before taking a long sip from her iced coffee.
I sit there slack-jawed, wondering if she’s saying I should have gotten his number for her. What the heck? “Why would I do that?” I try to keep the annoyance out of my tone but know it’s there.
“Uh, because he was totally into you.”
“What?”
“He didn’t take his eyes off you all night. Seriously, the Queen of England could have started doing the hand jive on the dance floor and he still wouldn’t have spared her a glance.”
“What?” I repeat in utter disbelief. I can’t believe Gareth was paying that much attention to me. More so, I can’t believe she’s telling me I should have went for him after what she said about wanting him.
“He was obviously into you.” She shrugs.
My mouth opens and closes before I blurt, “You said you wanted hi—”
She waves her hand out between us, cutting me off. “He’s hot. Any woman alive would want him. I might think he’s attractive, but he’s not my type, and he’s definitely not interested in me.”
“I—”
“So did you get his number?” she cuts me off once more, and I jerk my head from side to side. I didn’t get his number. Not only that, but I snuck out on him just a few hours ago. “Did he offer it to you?” She frowns.
“I thought you wanted him.” God, I’m an idiot. I snuck out of his bed, out of his house, thinking I was following some stupid rule me and my sisters made up before we even were allowed to shave our legs. What the hell was I thinking?
I watch her eyes fill with realization then her lips thin. “You thought I wanted him, so that’s why you ignored him.”
“Worse,” I whisper.
“How could it be worse than you ignoring him because of me?”
“I spent the night with him, and then snuck out of his bed this morning and caught an Uber home.”
“You didn’t,” she cries, sitting toward me. “I can’t believe you slept with him.”
“I didn’t. I mean, we slept together, but we didn’t sleep together.”
“You really are always a good girl,” she sighs like she’s disappointed.
“You said….” I close my eyes. It doesn’t matter what she said; she’s always saying things like that. I should have known. “You saw him first.” The words sound stupid, even to my own ears. God, I screwed up, seriously screwed up, and I have no one to blame but myself. I left Gareth without an explanation, without even a note. If I were him, I’d be pissed.
“Hey.” April’s gentle tone and hand touching mine brings my attention back to her, and I open my eyes. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“I’m not sure. If he…. If the roles were reversed, I would be mad. I’m not sure if I’d ever talk to him again.”
“Blame it on me,” she says immediately. “Tell him that I called you and needed your help, so you didn’t have time to explain things before you took off on him.”
“The only issue with that is I don’t know his number. I can’t exactly send him an ‘I’m sorry I snuck away’ text.”
“Shit.” She looks away, her mind obviously working to try to find a solution. “Sage probably has his number. We can ask him for it.”
I don’t want to ask Sage for his number. No way do I want to answer any questions, but what choice do I have?
“Okay,” I agree.
She pulls her phone out then quickly types a message. I wait then hear her phone ping. When her face lights with a smile, I don’t know if I should be nervous or excited.
“I got his number. Get your phone.”
I pick up my cell and type in the number she shoots off. When he’s added to my list of contacts, a small sense of relief fills me.