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“Okay,” I say with a sigh. I sit on the bed and lean my head against the wall. “I can talk now. Lewis is insistent on this double date.”
“I’m not surprised. He always has been… tenacious.”
That’s one way to describe my brother. “I tried to convince him that it would be awkward. And he agreed it would be, but, you know…”
“Right,” David sounds resigned. “Laura. Why did you lie for me?”
My heart beats heavily in my chest. I feel tight, like I could snap at any second.
“I…”
I don’t want to say.
I can’t pretend for a second that I was lying for myself—honestly, Lewis would have forgiven me for sleeping around more than he would’ve me falling for the boss. It’s that the other way around makesDavidharder to forgive.
I can’t pretend that I was caught up in the moment, though I was.
The truth is, all of the reasons I have for lying—his kids, his ex’s face, mybrother’sface—all loop back to one thing: I care about him.
I care about him, and so I lied to protect him.
“I just did,” I say finally. I don’t want to say anything else, so I don’t. I think David owes me that much.
“Alright,” he murmurs. It’s as much of a concession as I’m going to get, and I know it. “Alright, Laura.”
“We should come up with a plan,” I tell him. I drum my fingers on my knees. “There’s no way out, but there’s a way through.”
“I’m with the kids until Thursday.” He hums a bit, thinking. I listen to it and pretend like it doesn’t feelnice, doesn’t feelcomforting.“Friday, we could meet.”
“I’ll text you a place,” I say. “Not yours or mine.”
“Right.”
“Right.”
We don’t say anything else.
Alice is slamming cups in the next room. Lewis is driving across town to gossip about this with his girlfriend. David is quiet so his kids don’t hear.
And I’m sitting here like an idiot, pretending like I’m not wishing everything was different.
“Goodbye, David,” I say. I hang up the phone, not waiting for his reply, and then throw myself to the bed.
Even if it’s not objectively true, this really, really does feel like my worst day ever.
CHAPTER 14
David
I’m watching the cars whiz by with a remarkably frightening grasp on aerodynamics when Laura comes into the bar.
When we agreed to meet here, it seemed like a good idea. It was neutral ground that both had no kids and no beds but we’d be unlikely to be overheard by someone who needed to be kept in the dark.
But now, watching her slip through the door into a carefully lit lounge, her red hair falling in cascading waves over one shoulder and thatdamnlipstick on again, it’s hard to remember why this was a good idea.
After all, we’ve fucked in a bar before, didn’t we?
I banish the thought as fast as I can. Her beauty, her transcending appeal, is not what I can focus on right now. It’s not my right, firstly. And secondly, it’s not my priority—getting through this situation with as few casualties as possible is.
