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Grayson’s eyes darted back to me and he stepped closer. “Josie, please…”
My fight or flight reflex kicked in, and the broken shoe shot from my hand, colliding with Grayson’s shoulder. My eyes bulged.
“Fuck,” Hank gasped.
“Crazy bitch.” Craig chuckled under his breath.
Grayson stood motionless, clearly in as much shock as I was.
My face burned red. “Just stay away from me. Best this ends now.” I spun around on my bare foot and ran, until the fire inside my body turned to ice.
***
6
Still reeling, I marched up the stairs to my apartment and slammed the door behind me. Luci trotted over at the vibration in the floor and I threw my lone shoe to him, which he happily took back to his bed to eat.
I dumped my bags on the couch and stormed into the kitchen to cook some mac and cheese. I needed comfort food; stat. Especially as I missed out on experiencing all the exotic-to-me dishes on the menu.
As my meal cooked, I ripped off my dress and threw on my pyjamas and my original Australian sheepskin boots, before shuffling back into the kitchen.
Nursing a bowl of cheesy goodness, I relaxed into my shabby little couch, and turned on the television. The video clip of Easton Blue’s In Time appeared and I almost threw the remote through the screen. Fucking love songs.
I flipped through the channels until I found the perfect movie to match my shitty mood. Friday the 13th Part XIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. It was fucking ridiculous, but I loved it.
* * *
As Grayson nuzzled into my neck, I giggled. His body was warm against mine, and so, so…furry. My eyes sprung open and Luci was smothering my face with his stinky breath and wet kisses.
“Yuck!” I cried, pushing him away the best I could. As much as I adored my beast, I was not the dog kissing type, even if Luci was insistent on getting to first base.
The old couch creaked as I stretched out, trying to ease the ache in my back from sleeping in an awkward position all night. I groaned as I pushed myself upright and rubbed my neck. This must be what old feels like.
I let Luci out onto the terrace and dragged myself to the shower, wincing as the memories of the night before came flooding back. What a shit storm.
Deciding to put the ugly event behind me, I overturned my Sunday pyjama rule, and took Luci to the park to enjoy the morning doing what I loved most; watching life go by and capturing moments with my camera. The rest of the day was reserved for leftover pizza and b-grade horror movies. Because that’s how I roll.
I spent the following week working on my article. For the first time, the words came before the images because I couldn’t bring myself to look over the photos that taunted me from my camera.
It was Friday, and Marlene wanted the draft by the end of the day, leaving me no choice but to finally upload the pictures onto my computer. They bounced onto my screen like an explosion of memories—unwelcomed memories—that I was happy to keep repressing.
Skipping over the man with the beautiful colour-changing eyes, I searched for the perfect photograph of the bride and groom, but there weren’t any. It didn’t help that I disliked both of them. It was always harder to see beauty when you couldn’t feel it.
I printed off a contact sheet with the best images I had, and planned to ask Amy her opinion. I couldn’t risk screwing it up. Marlene was keeping quiet about the future of the business and it made me nervous. She had been in and out of meetings all week with the blinds closed, which was always a bad sign. The last time that happened, our staff list was cut in half.
“Oh my god…” Amy moaned as she sauntered into my office.
“Jesus, Ames, you look mid-way through an orgasm.”
“I think I am.” She sunk into the chair opposite my desk, her pixie hair cut looking a little spikier than normal. “Did you see him?” she asked, gazing lovingly towards the hallway.
I frowned. “See who?”
“Mr. Perfect. I’m surprised you didn’t notice him.”
“As you can see, I’m a little pre-occupied.” I motioned to the pile of notes and photos covering my desk.
She narrowed her eyes. “He walked straight past your door. I’m pretty sure he was checking you out.”
