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“I’m shocked you didn’t call him out.”
“Trust me, I wanted to, but I remembered that the models were being paid, and Christmas was around the corner. I wasn’t about to ruin a good hustle.”
“I can respect that,” I replied, laughing at her willingness to play along.
“I powered through the class, ignoring how some of the women whispered to each other about how hot he was.”
“How unprofessional,” I chimed in.
“You’re telling me. Long story short, their conversation became a little heated and disrespectful. One suggested she’d ask for his number after class. Her friend tried to warn her that he was married—hence the ring on his finger. To which Little Ms. Homewrecker said, ‘What his wife doesn’t know won’t hurt her.’ That was the final straw.”
“Uh-oh.”
“What do you mean, uh-oh? I was very polite about it. I wasn’t welcome back, but I think I handled it with as much grace as I could.”
“Somehow…I doubt that.”
“As much as I could, can mean very little,” she explained.
“I can’t argue with you there. What did you tell her?”
“I said, ‘Well, his wife is here, and she’s about to hurt you.’” Kierra covered her face with her hands as I laughed. “I was so heated. Rory ran off the platform while trying to cover his dick and balls, which I don’t even know why he tried because we’d been drawing it for the last thirty minutes. He got in between us, and then I focused my wrath on him, telling him it was all his fault because he was stripping for bitches.”
“How toxic,” I taunted.
“No argument there, but he didn’t mind. The crazy fucker was turned on that I was ‘defending his honor,’” she said, quoting her words with her fingers. My eyebrows knitted together when I noticed something…peculiar.
She’s not wearing her wedding ring any longer. When did she take it off? Had it been recently, and I hadn’t noticed until now?
“I have a question. Did Rory not think that you’d be at the class?”
“He had his weeks mixed up. He thought it was the third weekend. He knew I wouldn’t attend the paid weeks.”
“Gotcha.”
“We ended up taking a nice road trip and stayed in hotels that didn’t have numbers in their names, and you couldn’t access your room from the outside.”
Out of nowhere, my mood sank, and I was suddenly ready for bed.
“Dinner, dessert, and your company has been lovely, Kierra. You should let me return the favor soon,” I said, standing to my feet and grabbing dishes.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, following me into the kitchen.
“Everything is fine. I—”
“I can stop talking about Rory if it annoys you.”
“It’s not about Rory!” I snapped, throwing the dishes into the sink. “Shit,” I whispered when Kierra left the kitchen. I ran after her and blocked her from taking the stairs. “Kierra, I’m so sorry for losing my temper. Let me explain,” I rushed out.
“Okay…explain,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.
“It is Rory, but it isn’t. I’m jealous of a dead man, but not for the reasons you’d think. I never experienced what the two of you have. I hear your many stories of love and selflessness, and I think about my ex and how I can’t share a single story with you that would come close. I couldn’t take Eliza on a fucking road trip. She wasn’t happy if she wasn’t flying first-class or staying in a luxury suite. Visit the Grand Canyon? More like the Grand Cayman Islands. I don’t think she ever loved me, and the fucked up part is that I can’t even fucking regret her. I can’t say I wish I had chosen better, or I should’ve listened to Anthony because she gave me my kids. What you had with Rory was wonderful and should be celebrated, but I…I feel like I missed my chance, you know?”
“Jonathan…you haven’t missed your chance. You’re in your early thirties. There’s still time to find that woman out there who’ll love you the way you deserve.”
“I don’t want to find a woman out there.”
“A man?”
