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Camilla sits in her usual seat and Arch takes the seat next to her, which isn’t set out. After all, I was only expecting her for dinner.
Trust him to show up on a night like this.
“So, how long has this been going on?” Arch asks, glancing between me and Camilla.
Camilla looks to me to answer.
“I guess you could say it started just after winter break.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Camilla says, glancing warily at Arch.
Arch reaches for the open wine bottle on the table and pours himself a glass.
“Do you really need anymore alcohol?” I ask.
“Effects are wearing off. Be careful of these girls, Gav. They’ll ruin you.”
Camilla’s brow furrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckles. “Don’t pretend you don’t know about me and Adrianna.”
The confused look on her face says it all. “What about you and Adrianna?”
He takes a long swig of wine before pinning her with a serious glance. “We’ve been fucking for months.”
“No, I don’t believe that. She hates you.”
Arch looks wounded at that word as if Camilla just grabbed a steak knife and thrust it right through his gut. “Thanks a lot.”
“Sorry, I just mean she was constantly complaining about your trying to get into her pants. What changed?”
Arch has a guilty look on his face, which suggests he didn’t play fair when coercing her into bed. “I had some information she didn’t want getting out.”
“What kind of information?” I ask.
“If I told you that, I’d be breaking my promise.” He sways on his seat precariously. “And so she agreed to sleep with me for my silence.”
“You really don’t know when to accept rejection, do you?” I grab the lasagna out of the oven and set it down in the center of the table. “No wonder she’s detached. You blackmailed her into having sex with you.”
Camilla glares angrily at Arch. “That’s fucking sick.”
Arch glares back. “Yeah, well, once she realized what she’d been missing, she couldn’t keep away. But she acts like it means nothing.”
I set some breadsticks on the table and Arch grabs two, shoving them in his mouth.
“She acts as if she doesn’t give a shit about me.”
“Probably because she doesn’t,” Camilla says, clearly still angry about finding out my friend forced her friend into bed with him. “How could she care about a man who blackmailed her the way you did?”
Arch’s head hangs. “I don’t know.”
I pull the garlic bread out of the oven and set it down on the table. “Food is ready. Dig in.”
Arch reaches for some bread and puts it on his plate, and then dishes himself up a large portion of lasagna.
I serve Camilla and we all fall into silence, eating together.
Camilla and I share glances.
