AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And even if it’s pretend…he’s still showing me respect.
My hand slides up his thigh.
His fingers tighten on my shoulder as he pulls me close to press his lips against my temple.
Angus watches.
He’s already finished his second martini without even setting the glass down on the table.
“Maybe Ishouldhire you,” he says to Sully abruptly. “To help me find what I’m looking for.”
I try to hold very still and not even breathe.
“Sure,” Sullivan says, like he’d be doing Angus a favor. Like it doesn’t matter to him at all. “What are you looking for?”
As Angus talks about what he envisions for the new campus, Jessica picks up a menu and peruses it in a way that makes it plain how boring she finds the conversation.
“You said you wouldn’t talk business…,” she complains.
“Baby, life is business.” Angus tries to sneak his arm around her waist once more. “If you’re not hustlin’, you’re dyin’.”
“If that’s all you’re going to talk about, I’m going to sit with Theo.”
Uh oh.
Jessica slides into the booth on my other side, right as the waiter comes to take our order. After that one-minute reprieve, we’re tete-a-tete, only inches apart, close enough that her sweetly floral perfume fills my nostrils and her sparkly moisturizer rubs off her legs onto mine.
“So how did you two meet?” Jessica demands, making plain that the purpose of her cross-booth visit is further interrogation.
“High school.”
“Hm.” That’s a mark in my favor, a tally in the “This Is Totally A Legitimate Relationship” column. “And you kept in touch all that time?”
“We bumped into each other at a party. He asked me to dance, and the next thing I knew…,” my eyes meet Sullivan’s, “…we were dating.”
Sully grins. He’s chatting with Angus but listening to us. I can tell from the angle of his body.
“Is it serious?” Jessica’s eyebrow rises, her tone incredulous.
“Oh yeah,” I say. “Extremely serious. He’s completely obsessed with me.”
Sully bites the edge of his lip, eyes still trained on Angus.
Jessica’s rogue wrinkle reappears. I’m starting to love that little wrinkle. It’s so determined. It has to fight against so much.
“Wow,” she says, like she doesn’t believe that for a second. “So like, he just knows everything about you? All your favorite foods, favorite songs, favorite place to get a pedicure?”
I know exactly where she’s going with this.
She wants to catch us, right here and now, as the lying liars we are.
Unfortunately…she’s right.
Even worse, Sullivan and I have not taken the time to memorize a list of each other’s favorite things. Which I’m realizing now was a pretty big omission.
My eyes dart over to Sullivan. He’s engaged with Angus and doesn’t give me any clue what I should do.
I try to fudge it.
