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“Appointment ran over. Well, if there’s nothing you need.” I start to back out of the doorway but stop when she stands.
“Give me just a second and I’ll walk out with you.” She starts to gather her things and despite the fact that I really don’t have the time to wait for her, I do so as patiently as I can muster.
“Okay.” I watch her slip on her coat.
“So I take it things are going well between you and Remi?” She drapes her purse over her arm before moving toward me.
“I... uh...” My tongue suddenly feels too heavy to spit out the words I try to say next.
Certainly, he didn’t tell her already, right? Then again, sheishis best friend. Even still, I don’t know how I feel about him sharing such things without at least checking with me first. I mean, I have to work with this girl, for heaven’s sake. Talk about freaking awkward.
“Don’t worry.” She smiles, reading my reaction perfectly. “He didn’t tell me anything.” I turn, allowing her to pass me in the doorway before following her into the hall. “But I like to think I’m a pretty perceptive person, and when you take how happy you’ve seemed all day coupled with the fact that when I spoke to Remi earlier he gave me an epic blow-off, I can connect the dots from there. So...” Her gaze drifts to the side of my face as we make our way outside. “Are you going to tell me how things are going?”
“Well...”
My nonanswer is answer enough because when I pull to a stop next to my car that is parked beside hers, there’s a wide, knowing smile on her face.
“I knew it.” She clasps her hands together. “You two slept together.” She practically squeals, immediately backpedaling when I grimace. “Sorry, got over excited for a moment.”
“It’s fine. It’s just all happening so fast...”
“That’s how it happens sometimes. Sutton and I... Well, let’s just say within a week of reuniting as adults, we were going at it like rabbits. You get no judgment from me. I know what it feels like to be seduced by a Barnett brother. They are a special breed them two.” Her smile softens. “You really like him.” It’s not a question.
“I do,” I weakly admit. “Does that make me pathetic?”
“Are you kidding? Of course it doesn’t. Remi, on the other hand.” She chuckles to herself. “You’ve got that man so twisted I don’t think he knows which way is up anymore. Thank you.”
My forehead furrows in confusion. “I’m sorry?” I question, trying to decide if she just thanked me for sleeping with her best friend because if she did, that’s totally weird.
“Thank you for making him happier than I have seen him in a very long time. I told you he was a great guy.” She nudges my arm. “And I know that he’s my best friend and all, but if you want to talk about him, or about anything really, you can always come to me. I promise to be as impartial as possible.”
“I know. And I appreciate that,” I tell her, really needing to get a move on. “Well, I hate to rush off, but Remi is actually kind of waiting on me.”
Another smile splits her face in two.
“Well, in that case, don’t let me keep you.” She backs away slowly. “Tell Remi I say hello.” She’s still grinning like a fool when she unlocks her door and slips inside her car.
Shaking my head, I climb into my own car, settling into the driver’s seat before snapping my seat belt into place. As soon as the engine purrs to life, I plug my phone into the charger and quickly pull out of the parking lot.
Traffic is pretty light until I hit the freeway, which is bumper to bumper the entire way into the city. It’s not a standstill, but it’s slow enough that I grow more and more anxious by the minute. I’m sure Remi won’t care that I’m late, butIcare. I pride myself on being a punctual person.
It’s quarter after six when I finally pull into the lot across from his building. Grabbing my phone, which now has thirty percent battery, I pull up my messages to let him know I’m here, only to see that I have an unread message from him already sitting in the thread. Clicking on it, I could seriously almost cry with what I read.
A friend is in from out of town and they’re going out for drinks instead... Fucking great. I rush out of work, stress the entire drive here, only to find out he canceled on me hours ago and I didn’t even know it.
Great... Just great.
This is totally my luck.
Restarting my car, I text Yiya to let her know I will, in fact, be home this evening, before dropping the phone onto my passenger seat. I’ve just shifted the car into reverse when movement in front of me catches my attention.
In an instant, I feel everything tip on its axis. Because right in front of me is the proof I knew would surface eventually. Remi exiting his building with a busty blonde who’s got her arm locked through his as they step out onto the sidewalk.
I watch in horror as he leans down and says something into her ear, to which she throws her head back on a laugh that I can almost hear if I try hard enough.
That. Motherfucker.
I’m half a mind to pound the gas pedal and run the asshole over. Or at the very least jump out of this car and give him a piece of my mind. But of course, I do neither of those things. Because at the end of the day, the fault is mine and mine alone. I knew better.
