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“That’s dependency,” Jane announces out of nowhere. “You like him, but he has some sort of guardianship over you. It’s not healthy.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is, in a way,” Chris chimes in. “I mean, it would’ve also been creepy if he was banging his best friend’s daughter.”
“Why are you calling it creepy?” I nearly shout. “I thought you weren’t judgy, Chris.”
“I’m not. I’m just thinking about it from your dad’s perspective. Do you think he’d be full of smiles if he found out that his best friend took advantage of his daughter when he should’ve been taking care of her? He’s the older one. He should know better.”
“He didn’t take advantage of me.Ichose this. I’m twenty and I can make my own decisions.”
“Hey, calm down.” Chris softens his voice. “I was just saying it from a different perspective. Sit down.”
It’s then I notice that I’m standing up, crushing the burger between my stiff fingers. And I hate this, I hate that I got worked up so fast and nearly lost my shit. If it was Nate, he wouldn’t have acted this way. Because he’s older and wiser, and maybe Chris is right. Maybe I just don’t know better.
I flop back on the chair, my eyes stinging and my heart sinking in my chest. If the people who are supposed to be by my side are secretly judging me, how would others feel about it? Nate was right to keep the marriage a secret.
Once again, he predicted the future while I’m always stuck in the present. He must’ve known that if news of our marriage went public, people would be judgmental and then I’d overreact and mess everything up.
“It’s different if he likes you,” Jane says softly. “That means it’s mutual and you’re not chasing after the dependency.”
He likes me.
I think he does.
Right?
I mean, why would he say all those things about my dad and bring me back from the edge if he didn’t?
Except he might simply be playing his role of guardian.
But a guardian wouldn’t touch me like that. He wouldn’t talk so dirty that I need a cold shower just thinking about it.
Though it could be just that. Sex.
“So this is where you’ve been.”
The three of us stare at the doorway, where Knox is standing, narrowing his eyes on Chris—his intern.
But he’s not the one who stiffens, nearly turning into a statue.
It’s Jane.
The straw is between her lips, but she’s not sucking. She’s staring at Knox, who’s standing there with his shoulders squared. It’s almost an aggressive stance—which is out of the ordinary for someone like him.
Chris gets up and offers his charming smile. “I was just having lunch. I’m finished.”
“Then why are you still standing there?” Knox says in his serious voice that I rarely hear from him. He’s usually outgoing around me, but he sounds like a British villain right now.
My friend must feel it, too, because he quickens his pace and leaves the IT room. Knox doesn’t. He keeps staring. I thought it was at Chris earlier, but it’s at the computer. Or maybe it’s Jane, but why would he stare at her? No one even knows she exists. Nate calls her the IT girl and only because I talk about her. She’s invisible to everyone and likes it that way.
“Aspen is searching for you, Gwen,” he tells me, slowly breaking eye contact with Jane to focus on me.
“Why?”
“No clue. But you should go. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
I stand up, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Aspen is the last person I want to see. But I’m still an intern and interns don’t go around being stubborn little bitches to senior partners.
