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“Yeah,” she said. “And maybe there’s, you know, the animalistic-reproductive-alpha game, which was designed by nature or whatever? But maybe we clever little creatures evolved a whole bunch of different ways to play. And we don’t have to play that game if we think it’s too ugly.”
“Or we could just take little parts of it,” he said. “And rewrite the rules so that the ugly parts don’t matter.”
She nodded, feeling sort of tingly all over. “Can we, um, keep talking about this in my bedroom?”
He grinned widely. “Definitely.” He got up from the couch, still holding her hand, and tugged her up with him.
She collided with his chest, looking up into his eyes.
He touched her face, leaning down to kiss her.
And his phone rang.
“Tangles and briars, what now?” he said, digging it out. “Fucking Larissa, if she—” He tilted his head to the side.
“What?”
“It’s Ned,” he said.
“It’s Ned? Why would Ned be calling you right now? What time is it?”
1:28 a.m.
“HELLO?” SAID DECKER into his phone. Maybe this would be a butt dial. Except he didn’t think Ned was usually even awake this late. Ned was in his late fifties, and Decker didn’t get the impression he had a wild and crazy social life on Friday nights. So, the odds of his sitting on his phone right now? Low.
“Sorry to call you right now, Decker,” said Ned. “I’m up pacing in my living room in the dark. I can’t sleep. I know I should just wait until Monday to speak with you, but I’m worried.”
Decker went entirely still and rigid. This was bad. “Worried about what, Ned?”
“Look, it’s not really any of my business, and I don’t know how to even talk about this with you, but I feel as if this has the potential to turn into a really big mess, and I also feel sort of protective towards Essence. She acts so tough and capable, but she’s young, and this sort of thing—you might think it’s fine, but trust me, give her a little time to herself, she might change her tune.”
Decker didn’t say anything, because he was sorting through what Ned’s tone meant first, and he knew the tone was conveying a male hierarchical directive, aimed at him because he’d trespassed against some code. He was so busy trying to figure that out that he was only belatedly processing the words that Ned was saying.
“I mean, that’s a shit way to say it,” said Ned. “Not change her tune. Just, maybe she realizes how she actually feels when she’s not in a situation that’s fraught with a lot of pressures and expectations. You might not realize you’re putting those out there, though, that’s the thing. We don’t. Men don’t.”
“Wait, what?” said Decker, who still reeling.
“She’s apparently bruised.”
“Oh, shit.” Decker sat down on the couch. His whole body tingled with a feeling of horror and revulsion. His wings trembled. This was not happening. This was not happening. “Larissa, she saw her neck, and then—”
“It’s her neck?” said Ned.
“This is not your business, Ned,” said Decker, and he was surprised how cold his voice had gotten. Larissa told Joanie, and Joanie had told… well, only the tangles of time itself could say how it was that Ned had found out, but he clearly had and very quickly.
“No, I know that, and—”
“You know me,” said Decker. “You’re not really accusing me of—”
“Do I know you, Decker? You work in my office, sure. But we’re not close or anything. All I’m thinking about is what this does to the paper. This could blow up into some thing. She goes on that Twittible-X-thing. Whatever it’s called now. And the hashtags and the people up in arms, and they’re going to say we have some sort of culture of silence in our office. And, you know, there was a time when I would have stayed out of it, but I don’t want swept up in that. And you both work here, and I’m nervous as all fuck.”
“Put him on speaker phone.” Essence’s voice cut through whatever diatribe Ned was going on.
Decker looked up at her, shaking his head.
She snatched the phone from him, and he was too surprised to stop her. She hit the speaker button and tossed the phone down on the couch. “Hi, Ned.”
“Oh,” said Ned. “You’re together. I guess that’s a good sign.”
