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“We’re going to Italy?”
“Yes,” she answers.
“Are you okay with being late for work?”
She frowns. “I don’t like being late, Trace. You know this.”
I drop the paper back in the box, drop my towel, and reach for her shirt. “Not even for me? On my birthday? So I can say thanks for the awesome presents?”
She sighs when I kiss her neck. She grabs my arms and pulls me closer, wordlessly giving me the okay. Best. Birthday. Ever.
“Put all your laundry in the basket before you leave,” I holler the next week as I open the door to leave for work. I’m washing laundry when I get home and Trace has a knack for not putting his laundry in the freaking basket. He kills me sometimes because his kitchen has to be spotless, and he likes for everything to be put away, but heaven forbid he put his dirty clothes away.
“I will,” he shouts back.
With that I leave for work. Today is going to be a busy day. We’re finalizing details on the project I’ve been working on. My new teammate, Tim, is great and nowhere near as creepy as he who shall not be named. Then I’m off to lunch with Rebecca, who said it was urgent and necessary, before heading to my regular session with Mrs. Potter. I’ve been trying to push off lunch with Rebecca, just because if it’s going to be like last time where she talks the entire time about herself, I don’t want to deal with it. But she swears she needs to meet with me, so I’m going.
Work is busy and the time flies by. Melissa stops by my desk.
“Lunch?”
“Sorry, I have to meet with a friend from college. Want to go tomorrow?”
She sighs like I’m inconveniencing her and I smile. “Yeah, I guess that will work.”
“It’ll have to.”
“Are we still on for a girls’ night for your birthday? Trace doesn’t have any plans for you?”
I shake my head. “He said if that’s what I wanted to do, he didn’t care. He’s taking me out for lunch and he’ll give me my presents once I come home from hanging out with you.”
“Kinda odd that he doesn’t want to have you all to himself after what you did for his birthday. Were you inviting your friend from college for our girls’ night?”
“Should I? I don’t think you two will mesh,” I say, ignoring what she said about Trace.
“Then, yeah. Keep her out of it.”
I laugh. “Will do. See you later.” I grab my purse, clock out, and leave to meet Rebecca. I’m assuming she’s having problems with Dustin again. That’s usually what an urgent meeting with her is about. She beats me to the restaurant, and I spot her easily. The waitress comes to take my drink order and when she walks away, I ask, “So, what’s going on?”
“Trace is cheating on you,” she blurts out.
“What? No, he’s not.” When would he have time to cheat on me? If he’s not at work, he’s with me. Anger starts to swell within me. Is she making things up to get me to break up with him?
“I saw him Monday when I was on my lunch break. He was coming out of the restaurant with another woman. They were laughing and obviously seemed to know one another. I thought you should know.”
I stare at her. She is making assumptions based on what she saw. Trace wouldn’t do that to me. It was probably a co-worker. He went out with old Mrs. Rumley when he was working at the university. It could be the same thing. However, Trace usually mentions if he had lunch with someone when he’s talking about his day. He didn’t mention eating with anyone earlier this week.
“You don’t believe me,” Rebecca states.
“No, I don’t believe Trace would cheat on me. It could’ve been a co-worker.”
“She was pretty. Really pretty. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want Dustin going out with a hot girl, co-worker or not.”
Yeah, but Trace has never cheated on me like Dustin has on her before. I don’t say that, though. “I trust Trace. He wouldn’t do that to me. Not to mention, the only time he would even see someone else is on his lunch break because he comes straight home after work. I don’t know who you saw, but it wasn’t a girl on the side that he’s seeing.”
“Are you going to ask him about it?”
“No,” I answer curtly. “Because he’s given me zero reason not to trust him and I’m not going to stir up shit in my relationship because you think he’s cheating on me. For all I know, you didn’t even see him with someone and you’re making it up. After how you tried to set Quinn and me back up because you think I’m stupid to go back to be with Trace, who knows.”
