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“Alice?” Simon says, his expression quizzical, his slanted eyebrows pulled together in one of those moody made-for-TV expressions. It dawns on me that we’ve already made it outside the film and television building and are standing near the curb.
“Yeah?”
He stuffs his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, for once looking unsure of himself. “I asked you if you maybe wanted to go out sometime…there’s a Scorsese retrospective at the Nuart Theater.”
Reagan
I park the Jeep at the curb in front of the film and television building and stand in my seat. I’m watching Alice smile up at the shady guy as if he’s something special. Christ, she’s making heart eyes at the guy.
A fling, she said. She’s looking for a fling. My insides roil at the idea. And the ride home last night––what lasted maybe ten minutes––felt like a damn eternity with her ass pressed up against my hard-on. Thing is, despite the worst case of blue balls ever, it felt good to hold her, to have her there. It felt right.
Shady smiles back and a feeling of possessiveness so powerful comes over me, I’m ready to blow like a goddamn geyser in Yellowstone. Wtf?
Unless I’m playing sports I’m pretty easygoing. And I’m definitely not proprietary. Which is why I’m surprised at my own response.
Jumping out of the Jeep, I’m bearing down on the two of them before I’ve decided what to say, or why I’m saying it. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know this is bad, that it won’t end well because control feels like an abstract concept right now and that never bodes well.
“Hey, Reagan. Have you…” Alice’s voice fades when she gets a good look at my face, her big eyes narrowing on me.
I adopt an air of indifference, give her a lazy smile. She can’t know that it bothers me. That it makes me anxious and sick to my stomach. Because that would make me a hypocrite seeing as I’m the one that insisted on us being friends.
“The hell is this?” is my opening shot.
My forced smile isn’t fooling anyone. Shady scowls at me. However tempted I am to knock it off his face, I manage to curb the impulse. Except I just can’t seem to get a handle on this feeling that there’s a fox in the hen house and it’s my job to rip out the throat of the fox.
Alice eyeballs me warily. “Umm, what do you mean?”
She’s going to pretend nothing’s going on here, really? The fake smile drops and a scowl replaces it.
“I have practice. You’re filming today. But apparently we’re both going to be late because you’re too busy flirting.” I hook a thumb at the guy. Aside from that, I pretend he’s not still standing there and dump all my irritation on Alice.
Her eyes go wide. She blinks. Then she turns to him. “Simon, I have to go but I do want to see the Scorsese retrospective.”
Simon/Sean, whatever the fuck his name is, loses the attitude and smiles back at Alice like he just caught himself a nice fat chicken…my chicken. I don’t like the look or sound of this––at all.
“Can we go? Or would you rather stay here and continue to make eyes at each other.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone turn a flaming shade of red so fast. Alice looks like a burn victim.
“Hey, dude.” Shady decides now is the time to get really stupid. “Maybe you should––”
“Maybe you should run along, Simon,” I cut in, taking care to pronounce his name extra carefully.
Alice walks away, heading for the Jeep, and I follow. She gets in, buckles up. I do the same.
“Alice––”
“Don’t.” Her throat works. She refuses to look at me. Not a word is spoken on our way to the aquatics building, and a sinking feeling tells me the fallout is just beginning.
Alice
Big Deal: i’m hungry. wanna grab something to eat with me?
I read the text that comes in with a scowl puckering my face. The lack of capitals is especially nauseating tonight. I even tried it on my phone and now know for a fact that he has to actively make an effort to not capitalize. Which licks at my raw nerves even more.
The truth is I’m still furious at him for the scene he caused yesterday. Humiliating me like that in front of Simon was total BS and I need to see some serious remorse before we’re back to normal.
Me: No.
A good sixty seconds pass before the text alert rings again.
Big Deal: i’m traveling to palo alto for a game tomorrow. i guess i’ll see you when i get back.
I don’t bother answering. If he thinks he’s going to pretend everything is hunky dory after his tantrum, he’s got another thing coming.
Reagan
“I screwed up again,” I walk onto the patio scratching my head and muttering.
