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“No, because I know now what the real thing feels like and I don’t want to find an easy solution to my problem,” he said and placed the money on the table.
Alisha sat back in her chair lazily and looked up at Devon, her smile had turned sour.
“Suit yourself. I’m not the one who is a lonely bachelor living up in his ivory tower without any actual friends. Best of luck getting over your heartbreak,” she said and picked up her wine glass again.
Devon said nothing but turned and walked away from her. He couldn’t believe that Alisha too, of all people, wasn’t the person he had thought she was.
Chapter 18
Belle
When Belle returned to the apartment that evening, her eyes were burning and her shoulders were aching. She had spent the whole day trying to do her job well. As an intern, she was not only required to produce well researched market surveys, but she also had coffee runs to do and errands to run for others in the office. At the end of the day, Belle was tired and feeling heartbroken. But she still remembered that Jesse had a new job and she needed to support him.
When she opened the door, she found Jesse in boxer shorts and an old t-shirt. She was surprised, but tried to hide it with a chirpy voice.
“Hey! How’d it go?” she asked, shutting the door behind her.
Jesse was on the couch, playing on the console again and he looked up at her with a bored expression in his eyes.
“How’d what go?” he asked and Belle felt her heart sinking. She walked up towards him and softened her voice. It had obviously not gone well.
“The job interview,” she said, trying to sound as neutral as possible. Jesse paused the game, placed the control on his lap and looked up at her like he detested her for asking him that question.
“How do you think it went?” he asked and Belle shrugged and looked away from him. Of all the times he had been in a bad mood, this had to be the worst.
“You said you were excited about it and they pay well, so I don’t know…” she said and met his gaze again. Jesse rolled his eyes and looked away from her, as though she had said something offensive.
“They don’t want to hire me, alright?” he said and stood up from the couch. Belle followed him into the kitchen area.
“Why not? What happened?” she asked and Jesse ignored her. He went over to the mini fridge and extracted a can of beer for himself. Belle looked at the beer in his hand quizzically. What
was he turning into?
“Nothing happened. I went for the interview. They interviewed me and said that they don’t want to hire me,” he said and walked past her again towards the couch. Belle whipped around to follow him back to the couch. She had her doubts about whether he did actually go to the interview.
“What questions did they ask?” she asked, folding her arms over her breasts.
“General questions. Why are you grilling me?” he said, spreading his arms wide. Belle stared at him and realized that her nostrils were flared. She was losing her patience with him.
“What questions exactly, Jesse? I want to know what we can do to improve your interview skills,” she said, tightening her grip on her arms. Jesse was breathing hard and suddenly he dropped his arms and walked over towards Belle.
He placed his can of beer on the floor beside her and then his hands on her arms.
“Don’t worry about it, babe. I’ll find something else,” he said with a smile and leaned towards her. Belle didn’t move. She was fuming. She was doubly sure now that he hadn’t even gone for the interview. Why was he jeopardizing his career? Why did he assume that she could just provide for them both on her internship money? She didn’t even have the money to buy a coffee on her way to work. She was broke and miserable and feeling unloved and he just didn’t care.
Without saying anything, Jesse leaned towards her and tried to kiss her lips. Belle moved her face away. She felt nothing when he was close. No spark. No electricity. No attraction. And it was beginning to scare her.
“Hey,” Jesse whispered, a smile forming on his face. He kissed her cheek and then Belle sensed his hand reaching for her breasts.
Belle moved away from him with a jerk.
“What’s wrong babe? Isn’t this what you want?” Jesse asked and stepped towards her again. Belle froze as she stared at him. Jesse was beginning to disgust her. She felt like she was cheating on Devon now. Even though she was never going to see him again.
Jesse stroked her cheeks with his hands and kissed her forehead. Then the bridge of her nose and finally her lips. The kiss did nothing for her, except make her hate him a little more.
“Are you worried that I don’t know what I’m doing? Don’t worry babe, I’ve slept with girls before,” he said, looking at her with enthusiastic eyes.
Belle pushed him away and glared at him.
