Angie strode quickly around the front of the building, where their car was parked on the street, but she ran past it toward the waterfront.
“Angie, wait!”
The tears on her face turned cold in the late-night chill, and she realized she didn’t have her coat, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to get away from Joe and be alone.
“Don’t follow me!” she shouted, but the next thing she heard was the sound of the car door slamming and the engine roaring to life. She didn’t want Joe to find her and sweet-talk her into going home with him, so she hid behind a delivery truck.
Joe drove slowly past. As soon as he turned the corner, she started running again, down the street toward the waterfront, onto the city dock, past the Village Morgue Bar and warehouses, all the way to the small-boat harbor, where she finally collapsed on a bench, breathing heavily and weeping miserably.
It was a dark night with low clouds and no moon, and the black water was calm. Angie sat for a moment, staring at the ground and shivering in the cold until she forced herself to stop crying and wipe the tears from her cheeks.
She shouldn’t be surprised. Joe was charming and flirtatious. Women found him irresistible, and naturally he took pleasure in that. He milked it for all it was worth.
But she couldn’t bear the thought of him desiring other women. It was worse than ten knives in her heart. And truth be told, she’d always feared he would cheat someday. He’d been unfaithful in high school—at least once that she knew of. For a week Angie had watched him flirt with a new girl in town, and when Angie had learned that they’d made out at a house party she hadn’t been invited to, she’d broken up with him. Just like that. No hesitation. The next week, he had come knocking on her door, groveling and apologizing, promising that it would never happen again. She had forgiven him and taken him back because she’d been heartbroken and crying into her pillow for days.
But tonight, Joe had broken that promise. Was this the first time? She wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. The trust was gone now.
There was a sudden rustling in one of the boats, and she stood up to peer through the darkness.
“Angie?”
At the sound of her name, she let out a breath of relief. “Jeremy?”
He stepped out of his skiff onto the small dock and walked slowly, tentatively, toward her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“What are you doing here?” she replied, without answering his question.
“Sleeping.”
“In your boat?”
“Yeah. Under the tarp. But what areyoudoing here? And why are you crying?”
She sank onto the bench again and covered her face with her hands. “I saw Joe kissing Mrs.Lassiter in the parking lot behind the dance, and when I told him what I saw, he said it was nothing. He tried to drag me home, and I fell down.” She showed Jeremy her skinned knees and the runs in her pantyhose and burst into tears again. “The worst part of it is ... I don’t think this was the first time. It’s just the first time I caught him.”
Jeremy sat down beside her and gathered her into his arms. “Joe should know better. You’re too good for him, Angie. You deserve better. I always thought so.”
She fought to pull herself together and wiped the back of her hand across her wet cheek.
“But did you say Mrs.Lassiter?” Jeremy asked, confused.
“Yes!” she sobbed.
“But she’s old.”
“I know!” Angie replied. “She’s at least forty!”
Jeremy sat back and clenched his hands into fists. “I could knock his block off for making you cry like this.”
Angie reached for Jeremy’s hand and urged him to unclasp his fist. “That wouldn’t help. He’s twice your size.” She sat back. “It’s such a double standard. He likes to flirt, but I’m not allowed to be friends with you because it makes him jealous.”
“He’s jealous ofme?” Jeremy scratched his head. “I thought he hated me because I’m always getting into trouble.”
“Well, that too,” she replied. “And the fact that you give him the slip. He hates that.”
Angie shivered in the cold. Jeremy shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Warmth from his body still lingered in the sleeves, and she gathered the garment tightly around her.
