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“Yeah, she’s been with him all week. I’m surprised we’ve been able to snag her for one night. But we want to know more,” Charlie says.
Olivia leans in. “Yes girl, spill it.”
“I…uh…” I look over to Seth, he stands and slams his glass on the table.
“If you’ll excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
He pushes away from the table and zig zags his way through the crowd toward the bar. When my gaze shifts back to the table all eyes are on me. Fuck. If they didn’t have a suspicion before, they do now.
“I’ll be right back.” I stand and follow Seth’s path through the crowd.
What could he be so mad about? He knew we were keeping this a secret. He can’t possibly believe I’m seeing someone else. By the time I finally reach him he’s already down the dark hallway leading to the back exit. I reach out and grab his elbow to get his attention. He whirls around and I’m met with stormy emerald eyes.
“What happened back there? You have to believe me when I say I’m not seeing anyone else.”
Seth looks up to the ceiling before his gaze drifts back to mine. “Look, I know you’re not seeing anyone else—”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You know what the problem is? I’m tired of hiding this.” He points between the two of us. “I’m tired of only getting half of you. The half when we’re alone. I want to tell the world that this smart, funny, and amazingly beautiful woman wants to be with me, and I am the luckiest guy in the world because of that. But instead, I get jealous over a fictitious guy because he’s the one you tell your friends about. I’m tired of being your dirty little secret. I think I deserve more than that.”
“Seth, you know why I don’t want to tell anyone. At least not yet. People will talk and all the rumors will start.”
“If you knew anything about me, then you would know I’m not like your ex.” Seth’s glare bores into me but I have nothing to say. No words to reassure him that everything he’s saying is true. He’s not like my ex. Except I say nothing. “I thought so.” He turns on his heel but before he’s out the door he turns around. “I was hoping we could talk tonight because I really needed you. But instead, I learned where I stand. Chasing a girl who is clearly embarrassed to be with me.”
“Seth, that’s not true.”
“But isn’t it?” He raises an eyebrow waiting for my response.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He turns and his hand slams into the door as he storms through. I watch as the door closes, shrouding me in darkness again. Tears flood my eyes. I just fucked up the best thing that’s happened to me.
Twenty-Two
I’m not going anywhere
Parisa
The following day, I head into work a few minutes early to hopefully catch Seth. I spent all night tossing and turning, hating the way things went down last night. With each step, my heels pound against the concrete sidewalk. Flakes of snow swirl around as I duck my head and wrap my arms around myself to fight the bitter, icy wind. No matter how long I’ve lived in Northern Minnesota I will never get used to the winters.
The murmur of voices and soft chanting draws my attention, causing me to look up. Standing in front of The Blue Stone Group is a crowd of fifteen to twenty people, several of them holding signs while others hand out pieces of paper to anyone who passes by. I shuffle my way through the crowd until I reach the glass doors, when someone shoves a flyer into my face. Grabbing it, I hold it out and read the big bold words on the front.
STOP THE DESTRUCTION
OF OUR PARKS
Once I reach the front door, Gary, the middle-aged security guard is holding the door open for me. “You alright Ms. Anthony? The crowd hasn’t gotten too unruly, have they?”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you. When did they show up?” I point behind me.
“A few have been here since about five am and it’s been steadily growing ever since. It will be best if you use the parking garage entrance until this settles down.”
“Thanks, Gary. I’ll do that.”
So, this must be the controversy that The Blue Stone Group has caused in the community. There’ve been whispers around the office that they purchased a large lot and plan to level it and build some condos or something. But according to this flyer, a city park is also the casualty of another housing complex. As I walk toward the bank of elevators, I tuck the paper into my bag. I can only deal with one crisis at a time and right now, my main one is Seth.
My head is a mess, and I don’t know what to do. He’s not answering any of my calls or text messages, but if I run into him in person he has to talk to me. I check the clock and it’s 7:30 am. By the time 7:45 rolls around there is still no sign of Seth. Everything on his desk is in the same spot as he left it on Friday. 7:55 am and he’s still nowhere to be found. It’s not like him to be late. What if something happened? I stare at the clock for the next five minutes and when it changes to 8:00, Seth’s desk chair is still empty.
