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I sit in my car for a full minute, trying to wrap my head around what’s going on with Carl and his secrecy. Is he a spy or a special agent?
That might make sense. What if some secretive government agency approached him when he graduated? That might be what he hoped to protect me from all these years. Maybe he thought just being my roommate in a house that was probably bought by his agency under a shell corporation was enough to keep me safe.
A spy life explains his mysterious work trips he takes without notice, but does that explain his secrecy and his unwillingness to share his life outside the house?
I wonder what to do next. If Eros is successful in getting in, I shouldn’t call him back now, so I drive home instead.
After a couple of hours pass, I feel for my ring and summon Eros.
Oddly, he doesn’t show up instantaneously like he did earlier. Does that mean he’s still at Carl’s office building?
Or is he disappointed in me for not landing the guy when he did all the legwork?
Or perhaps he’s upset that I didn’t confirm Carl and Mercy’s relationship status before I fooled around with Carl?
Maybe I don’t have a pure heart after all.
Maybe Eros has given up on me. Why does that thought hurt more than I expected?
Or am I a person who steals someone’s love?
Fuck. What if Mercy is in love with Carl? What if Carl is in love with Mercy?
Did my desires and subterfuge with Eros cause Carl to cheat on someone else with me?
AmIthe bad guy?
I curl up in a ball on my bed and lose hope.
19
ULTIMATUM
“Dee?” Eros pops into my bedroom in an exhausted stupor. He awkwardly spins around to find me and quickly sees I’m curled up in my bed. When he realizes the wretched state I’m currently in, he staggers, hurrying to sit on the bed next to me. He runs his eyes and then his hands over me to discover the source of my tears, checking if I’m physically injured. When he doesn’t find any external wounds, he curls over me and wraps his warm arms around my shoulders. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Where were you?” I’m concerned by his ragged appearance, but I don’t see any wounds on him either. “What happened to you?”
“I… I couldn’t come when you called.” Eros wipes away my tears with his thumb. “Is that why you’re crying?”
“No.” I finish wiping my eyes.
He strokes my long hair to soothe me, understanding that my wounds are internal. “Then why?”
“Well, you not showing was part of it. I thought you didn’t want me as a matchmaker anymore because I’m not as good-hearted as you thought.” I also worried that I failed him. I fearhe will no longer want to be around me. That thought devastates me.
Eros studies me for a second, his perfect brow crinkling in confusion. “Why would you believe that?”
“I almost had sex with Carl when he was probably still with Mercy. They might be in love!”
“I don’t think so, sweetheart,” Eros says in a grave tone.
“Why not?” Instantly, my interest is piqued, wanting to know what he discovered. “What happened to you anyway? Why didn’t you come when I called?”
“I watched you leave the office alone. I wanted to check on you, but I had to see what the hell was going on with Carl first, so I approached the receptionist to get a meeting with someone—anyone. I found they have a website, but it was vague about what they actually do. I tried to wing it, thinking if I could get someone talking, that would be the best approach to take at first. I could ask questions and all that.”
Eros sighs and gazes up at the ceiling as if it holds some answer. “The gatekeeper, Annie, figured out pretty quickly that I didn’t know what they did exactly. She gave me a card to some other financial advisers in town. I left the lobby, and then I tried to return by popping into the building, but I couldn’t do it. Other than the front lobby, I discovered the entire building is warded to keep out supernatural entities and gods.”
“Wait.” I hold up my hand. “You aren’t messing with me? You can’t get in?”
