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He lifts his head and looks at me for a moment. Then he pulls me into his arms and gives me a hug.
I bury my face in his neck, clutching his tee in both hands. “Thank you,” I whisper, “for last night.”
“You’re welcome. Will you tell me what happened?”
I swallow hard and move back a little to look up at him. “Mum told me that Dad was having an affair with Sherry before she slept with Tom. Dad cheated first. It really shocked me, that’s all.”
His eyebrows rise. “Shit. Yeah. I’m so sorry.”
“I just couldn’t face him last night.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t want to spoil the wedding. I’ll have to keep it to myself today and speak to him when Gaby’s left for the honeymoon.” I hesitate. “It’s just… will you be honest with me? Have you ever cheated on a girl?”
“No,” he says immediately. “Never.”
We study each other for a long moment.
“I don’t get it,” I say eventually. “I don’t understand why people cheat. I know that’s incredibly naïve, but it’s so fucking cruel. If they’re not happy, why don’t they end the relationship, then look elsewhere?”
He thinks about it. “I suppose people don’t think about the repercussions of their actions. They get carried away in the heat of the moment.”
“But he had an affair for six months before she found out. That’s not a crime of passion, is it? That’s cold and calculating.”
“Sometimes I’m sure vengeance plays a part. But mostly I think it’s about solace. Relationships can be tough, and when things are hard, people look elsewhere for comfort.”
“I guess.” I need to think about that.
“Okay,” he says. “Well I guess I’ll see you back here later, for the wedding?”
“Yeah. In my bridesmaid’s dress.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
I smooth out his tee where I clutched at the cotton. “What are you wearing?”
“A navy three-piece suit.”
“Mmm. I love waistcoats.”
“You’ll like this one, then. It cost me a fortune, but it fits like a dream.”
I smile. “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah. You going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” I blow him a kiss, slip on my sandals, grab my clutch, and head out of the room, letting the door close behind me.
Outside, in the corridor, I lean against the wall for a moment and blow out a shaky breath. Wow. I press a hand to my forehead. Talk about a whirlwind of emotions. I’m still upset about last night, but excited to think that maybe I haven’t blown it with Damon. There’s a lot to get through before this evening though.
I go down to the ground floor, pull out my phone, then hesitate as I bring up the Uber app. I should go straight home, but there’s something else I want to do first. I type in Alex’s address and order the Uber. It only takes minutes to arrive, and soon I’m heading the short distance to his house.
I text him to let him know I’m on the way. He comes back:Everything okay?
Me:Yeah. Just need to talk to you about something.
Alex:Uh-oh.
