I’m right behind the dude. As the limo leaves he turns abruptly and pulls out his phone. I have to dart to the side to avoid being stepped on.
“Yeah. He’s off. No, I don’t see her.”
It’s the hipster who stalked me. He isn’t just following me, he’s following Roe too. My stomach drops out of me. Any buzz instantly evaporates to panic. They know we’re connected and I’m not sure what that means.
16
Roe
Emotions playover my face as we ride along in the back of the limousine, despite my effort to remain impassive. Mrs. Jenkins, Rhonda, as she prefers for me to call her, presses all the buttons and has two glasses of champagne very quickly. Soon her attention turns to me. I recall Maggie’s comments and shift away.
“So. You like my Maggie?” she asks.
“Yes.”
My focus remains on the passing apartment buildings. Regardless, her gaze bores into the side of my face.
“Hmmm. Okay. But she’s special. Don’t think she’s the type to boink and be tossed aside.”
“I wouldn’t—” I clear my throat. “Maggie and I aren’t like that.”
“Sure. Sure.”
“Really, she’s not interested in me. Like that.” I think of the kiss we shared. Innocent and yet incendiary. I don’t even believe my own lies.
“That’s a huge load of cock-and-bull. You two almost set my curtains on fire with your heated glances. But okay, do your little song and dance.”
My bow tie catches on my Adam’s apple until I wiggle some slack into it. Should I explain that I need to take it slow with Maggie? At some point it stopped being a question of “if” with Maggie, now it’s only “when?” When will she let me in?
“She’s been hurt.” Mrs. J. finishes before I formulate a response. Her tone’s a little more somber. “She doesn’t share much, but I’ve seen enough to know. Poor little thing has been knocked out all her life. Beautiful people have an easy pass, it’s true, but it’s not always fun and games. It can’t feel good to be sexualized from a young age.” Her watery gaze studies the passing crowds outside the window. “Nobody expects anything else from you.”
The sun is heavy and fat in the sky and it glares off the city windows. It blinds me if I stare too long.
There’s nothing to say.
“Just be gentle with my little bird. She acts like little miss ‘nobody can touch me’ but those are always the most fragile. The second she is shown love and kindness, she returns it tenfold. She pretends to be a fortress but she so desperately wants someone.”
She’s drifted in her talking like she didn’t mean to say all that. She stops speaking abruptly with a shaky smile. She squeezes my hand. I replay the hug and peck on the cheek. In that moment it felt like everything and now I understand why.
“Mrs. Jenkins—” I press my hands together with my knees.
“On the other hand, that girl needs to be boinked until she can’t walk straight.”
My wide eyes scan slowly over to her.
“You know what I mean. Wound up tighter than a watch spring. Needs to let loose.” She pulls out a compact from her bag and dabs her lips with a finger. “On second thought, forget everything I said. Girl can hold her own. You give her a good orgasm or two and make sure she forgets her name for a while. If it ain’t long term, you’ll both survive.”
I chuckle. My feelings for Maggie are complicated. She hates the world I live in with the “passion of a thousand burning suns,” her words not mine, and I can’t ever leave it. We’re stuck. Not to mention my barely contained attraction to her. Sometimes we’re close to ripping each other’s clothes off and other times she can’t handle direct eye contact. When we cross that line, everything will change.
“Tell me what you’d do if you were me, Mrs. J.”
“Rhonda,” she corrects. “First, I’d buy an island…”
“No, no.” my hand comes up to stop her. “I mean with Maggie. What would you do if you were in my position?”
She studies her hands for a moment. They’re covered in silk and jewels but tremble under the direct focus. “I would trust her and be there for her. That’s all anybody really wants. To be seen by someone.”
What an honor it would be to be fully trusted by Maggie. What it might be like to be the person she goes to for everything, shares everything with. If she’d have me.
