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We chatted for a couple more minutes, and then he glanced at me and asked, “Would you, um…would you maybe want to go out sometime?”
“Thanks for asking, but I have a boyfriend.” I said that so quickly and with such certainty that I startled myself. Aleksei and I weren’t even dating, so why did he automatically come to mind?
Tracy looked embarrassed. “I should have known a guy as cute as you wouldn’t be single. But I’d never forgive myself if I hadn’t given it a shot.”
“I’m flattered. Really.”
He got up and said, “I should go find my friends. They probably think I bailed on them.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.” I felt bad as I watched him jog down the stairs. It had obviously taken a lot for someone that shy to make a move, only to get shot down.
Princess Fluffy Butt followed me when I got up and went to my room, so I left the door ajar, in case she wanted to escape. After I changed into my most comfortable sweats and finished the beer, I stretched out on my bed. Soon after, the cat jumped up and curled into a ball on my chest.
We were still in that position half an hour later, when someone knocked on my door. Daniel stuck his head in and said, “I decided to take you up on your party invite after my boyfriend pissed me off, but here you are, in full hermit mode. Want me to leave you alone?”
“No. I’m glad you’re here.” The cat moved to my pillow when I started to sit up, and I shifted around and leaned against the wall. Daniel was dressed in a maroon suit and a crisp, white shirt, and I told him, “You’re looking dapper.”
“Thanks.”
As he took a seat beside me, I asked, “What did Brad do to make you angry?”
“As you know, I left work early tonight because we had this birthday party to go to for one of the douche canoes from his office. I rushed home, got all dolled up, and went to the stupid party with him, and for what? He spent the next two hours texting someone and barely paying any attention to me.”
“Who was he messaging?”
“He claimed a friend was in the middle of a crisis, but he kept smiling as he was texting. No one would do that if someone they cared about was having a hard time.”
“Did he tell you which friend it was?”
“He said it was someone I didn’t know.”
“But you two have been dating for almost a year,” I said. “You must have met all his friends by now.”
“No, not all of them, because he keeps his life very compartmentalized. In fact, the only reason he let me meet his coworkers is because he doesn’t like attending work functions on his own. But I still think he was lying.”
“So, if it wasn’t a friend…”
“My gut says he’s cheating on me. He must think I’m really oblivious, too, given the way he was messaging this person right in front of me.”
“I’m sorry, Daniel. That really sucks.”
“Yeah, it does, especially because I was all in with that relationship.”
“I know you were. Are you going to confront him?”
“Not without proof. He’ll just deny it and call me paranoid.” Daniel sighed, and then he changed the subject by asking, “So, what’s your deal? There’s an awesome party going on downstairs, but you’re up here hanging out with a soot sprite.” He gestured at the black cat, who’d curled into a sphere on my pillow.
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“Want to talk about it?”
I hesitated before admitting, “I think I’m starting to fall for Aleksei.” Daniel snort-laughed, and I asked, “What’s so funny?”
“Starting to? You fell for him a long time ago, T.”
“I liked him from the start, and I’ve always been attracted to him. But this is different. I find myself thinking about him all the time, and I miss him when we’re not together. And then tonight this really hot guy asked me out, but I immediately shut him down, because of Aleksei.”
“Of course you did. So, when are you going to tell him how you feel?”
“I don’t know if I should.”
“Why, because you decided you’re leaving in a few months? You can always change your plans.”
I shook my head. “It not that. This might be totally one-sided, and I could end up getting hurt.”
“You don’t think he likes you?”
“I know he does. He’s obviously attracted to me, too. But that’s not the same as falling for me or wanting a relationship. If he wanted something real, he would have asked me out. Instead, he hired me. That was obviously meant to keep me at arm’s length, figuratively speaking.”
“I see your point.”
After a pause, I admitted, “There’s something else that’s been bothering me.”
“What is it?”
“This is probably TMI, but he hasn’t fucked me yet.”
