“I don’t want to go.”
Logan smiled at me and tugged my hand. “Bobby and Kitty are expecting us.”
I let myself be pulled an inch and then I dug my heels in. Because he was so strong, I held on to the doorframe too. “Let’s stay home. Jean’s out. We’d have my place to ourselves.”
He shook his head. “Marie.”
Time to change tactics. I pressed against the length of his body and shrugged my shoulder so the strap of my little dress fell. “Or we could go to your place. We definitely wouldn’t get interrupted there.”
“You know I’d love to,” he said, his hands circling my waist. “But you were the one that promised we’d be there.”
I batted my eyes. “I’ll bring a jar of peanut butter.”
“Now how could I resist that?” He chuckled, stroking my hair which I left down. “Tell ya what, darlin’. We’ll go for just a little bit and then head over to my place.”
Pout. Still, it was better than nothing. I sighed, long and heavy. “Fine.”
“You’re awfully reluctant,” he said as I locked the front door.
I was. It wasn’t about hanging out with Bobby and Kitty together. Actually, I kind of liked Kitty, in a weird, other-dimension kind of way. She had to be doing something right because, from the little I’d seen, Bobby worshipped the ground she walked on.
Still, I felt off, like there was something looming around the corner that I should avoid. Dwight would say avoiding it would only close me off to any opportunities that could come from it, because in strife there was always the possibility of good. Although I would never say this to Dwight, sometimes sticking your head in the sand was just plain easier.
I sighed again and let Logan lead me down the stairs.
“You act like you’re going to the firin’ squad.” He lifted my wrist to kiss it. “We won’t stay long. I promise.”
I would have sighed one more time, but I saw Mystique coming down the block. I squeezed Logan’s hand. “Have I introduced you to my tenant?”
He groaned. “Marie, I know what you’re doing.”
“No, she’s right here.” I smiled brightly at her as she approached the house. “Hey, Mystique. How’s it going?”
She looked at me suspiciously and her answer was hesitant. “Okay.”
“This is my---“ What did I call Logan? My boyfriend? That sounded so juvenile. And lover sounded too tawdry. “My friend, Logan. Logan, my tenant, Raven Mystique.”
“We need to get goin’.” Logan gave me a look I couldn’t decipher. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same here.” Mystique nodded at him politely, gave me a look too (also undecipherable), and jogged up the porch steps.
“What did you think of her?” I asked when we’d settled in his Mustang.
He shrugged. “What was I supposed to think of her?”
I shrugged back. “I don’t know. Did you find her attractive?”
He glanced at me as he pulled out of the parking space. “Is this a test?”
“No.” It wasn’t, really. And the thought of distracting him from going to Bobby’s by proposing a threesome with her was only fleeting. “She’s a hooker, you know.”
“A hooker?” He raised his brows.
“A high-priced call girl.”
He chuckled.
“She is.” Frowning, I turned to face him. “Does that make her more enticing?”
“No. And I doubt she’s a call girl.”
“Oh?” He sounded so sure it made me suspicious. “Know all the call girls in town, do you?”
He didn’t exactly give the answer I wanted, but he said, “She didn’t look like one.”
“That’s because she’s not your ordinary, everyday, run-of-the-mill hooker. She’s high-priced.
He didn’t say anything, which was the loudest reply he could have made.
“I have proof,” I declared.
“What?”
“She carries around a big black bag that’s filled with her sex toys.”
“You’ve seen inside it?”
“Well, no.” Minor detail though.
He put his hand on my leg, just under the short hem of my dress, and squeezed my thigh. “I love you, you know.”
I froze, surprised by how easily he said it. I liked it, so I smiled wide and put my hand on top of his. After a moment, I said, “Does that mean you still don’t believe me about Mystique?”
He didn’t dignify that with a response.
All too quickly, we pulled into Bobby’s driveway. It was my reluctance that made me wait in the car until Logan came around and opened my door. I sighed for the millionth time, set my shoulders, and decided to just get the evening over with. My feeling of impending doom was probably hormones or something.
We walked to the door hand in hand. I was about to ring the bell when it flew open. “Hey, guys! I’m sooo happy you’re here.”
Kitty engulfed us in her flowery embrace. I coughed discreetly at the powdery floral scent of her. I grinned at the look on Logan’s face when she launched herself at him. I thought for sure he’d sneeze, but he held back somehow.
“Come in, come in.” She dragged us through the door and slammed it shut.
It sounded so final. Like there was no going back now.
Logan put a reassuring hand on my back and pushed me forward.
“---already making drinks. I hope you like them.” Kitty looked at us imploringly.
I smiled and said, “Oh, yeah. Thanks.”
She beamed happily and pointed us to the living room. “Sit down. I’ll go see what’s holding up my Pookie.”
I perched on a loveseat and Logan reclined next to me.
“You had no idea what she was askin’, did you?” He asked with a grin.
“Nope. No clue.” I looked around. “Do you think she and her pukie are going to join us soon?”
“I think it’s Pookie, not pukie.”
“Same difference,” I mumbled.
He pulled me back into his arms and gave me a thoroughly lingering kiss. “Play nice.”
“Oh, look, Pookie! Aren’t they sooo cute?” Kitty squealed as she and Bobby entered the room.
Bobby grunted but didn’t’ say anything. Probably trying not to spill the loaded tray he carried.
I tried to sit up, but Logan tightened his hold on me. I brought my elbow up, intended to jab him in the ribs, but he slipped a couple of fingers in the top of my dress, at the side so his fingers glided against the outer swell of my breast.
I stilled, not able to breathe at the tingles his touch caused. If I angled my torso just right…
“Here you go, Marie.” Bobby held out a pink beverage.
I tried not to grimace as I took the drink. Kitty must have picked the alcohol selection tonight. I opened my mouth to ask if I could have a beer instead, but then decided to deal with it. Really, I wanted to watch Logan drink his. Smirk.
“Isn’t this sooo cozy?” Kitty gushed as she sat down. She patted the seat next to her, giving Bobby a come hither look.
I had to look away from the adoring gaze he gave her as he did her bidding. Gross.
Okay, it was sweet. Just a little though.
“Marie, that dress is so cute on you.” She gave me an appraising look. “Did you get it from Betty’s Closet?”
“Yeah.” How did she know? I lifted my arm discreetly to see if I’d left the tag on.
“I thought so.” She gave me a knowing nod. “They’re the only store in Salem that carries that designer.”
“Um. Oh. Really?” Fascinating. Who knew?
“I love the color palettes she uses. Her designs are so bold.”
“Um. Yeah.” I smiled politely, elbowing Logan surreptitiously when I felt him snicker.
Bobby’s cell phone rang (I recognized the James Bond theme) and he got up to answer it. A moment later he came back, phone in hand. “Sweetie, it’s for you.”
“Excuse me a second, you guys.” Kitty hopped up and accepted the phone. Before she left the room, she kissed the tip of her manicured finger and pressed it to Bobby’s nose.
I hid my smirk in my drink.
Bobby eased back in the seat, a martini in his hands (why didn’t he get a pink drink?), and asked Logan, “How’s business going?”
“Great. We started a new marketing campaign with the matrix you provided.” He turned to me. “Bobby helps out with the PR for the gym.”
“That’s nice of him.” I glanced at Bobby, wondering why he did it. The kindness of his own heart? Maybe he did it for Logan, since they were friends.
“I appreciate it.” Logan speared his hand into my hair and rubbed the base of my skull.
I frowned, partly because I didn’t get why he cared if Bobby helped and partly because his caress made it difficult for me to concentrate.
There seemed to only be one reasonable explanation. “Is the gym in financial difficulty?”
Both of the guys gaped at me, but Bobby was the one who burst into raucous guffaws. Logan just chuckled as though he were charmed and simply said, “The gym’s doing okay.”
“Okay?” Bobby managed to choke out. “The gym’s doing great. You’re opening the tenth facility. You have facilities all along the Atlantic Coast.”
Logan shrugged and sipped his beverage.
“You’re so modest, man.” Bobby shook his head. “When you told me you wanted to open a gym, I thought it was just going to be a hobby.”
The gym was Logan’s? I goggled at him. “You own the gym?”
He shrugged again. “It’s a hobby. I like doin’ it.”
“Hobby?” Bobby snorted. “You have the start of an empire. You could be right up there with Gold’s if you wanted to. You’re just stubborn.”
“If we had growth like that, we’d lose what makes us stand out.”
Bobby waved his hand. “That’s what you’re always saying to us investors.”
Empire? Investors? I stared at Logan. “You’re an exercise mogul?”
“He’s a financial genius.” Bobby corrected. “And not only that, but he does a fair amount of work with at-risk youths.”
Logan’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t know I owned the gym?”
“No.” Why was that surprising? I was always the last to know. “You work with kids?”
“We have a nonprofit division for troubled kids and teens. We sponsor classes and bring in athletes for motivational talks.” He frowned. “Does it matter?”
“No.” Hell, yeah, it mattered. If I knew this from the start, I wouldn’t have tried to get Bobby back. “But it would have been nice to know. We’re kind of seeing each other, you know.”
He brushed his thumb against my lower lip before kissing me. It tasted apologetic. “Sorry,” he whispered against my lips.
I shook my head and lifted my hand to cup his face. “It’s okay.”
Actually, it was better than okay. My parents would love Logan. Successful, a homeowner, helped kids. Except for his military background and gas-guzzling car, but not everyone was perfect.
What a relief. I could tell them I was dating him and not Bobby. I’d planned on doing it (um, kind of) and living with the fact that they’d be less than enchanted by the turn of events. But now the timing wouldn’t matter. Even if I told them tonight, I’d still shine because he was better than Bobby—his success was earned on his own, not on the coattails of his family.
“You’re grinning.” Logan traced the outline on my mouth.
“I’m just happy.” Maybe I could even ask him if he wanted to go with me to the party. “Tomorrow night—“
Kitty stomped into the room. “I can’t believe you would do this to me, Bobby!”
We all looked up, but Bobby was the one who spoke. “What’s wrong, Sweet Blossom?”
“This!” she swiped at her cheeks, which were streaked with mascara, and waved the cell phone manically. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Frowning, Bobby got up and reached out to her. “I don’t know—“
“That’s the first truth you’ve said—you don’t know.” She shoved him so he tumbled back onto the couch.
Impressive. I gazed at her with renewed respect. She’d do well in Kung Fu.
Bobby gawked at her like he’d never seen her before. “Honey---“
“Don’t you honey me.” She had castration written in her eyes. “You two-timing—“ she sputtered “—jerk!”
“Hon—uh, Kitty. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“This.” She threw the phone so it hit him smack in the middle of his face.
Ouch. Logan and I both recoiled. Good aim.
“My call disconnected and I needed to know what Sheri was wearing tomorrow so I could coordinate, so I went to the call log to pull up her number and there was the list of calls you made.” She glared.
Oh, shit.
Bobby shook his head, his face bewildered. “So?”
“So?” She shrieked. “So who are Susan and Melissa and Allison and Michelle?”
I groaned and dragged a hand over my eyes.
“Listen, Swee—“ he cleared his throat when her eyes narrowed. “—Kitty. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know these women.”
“I may not be as smart as some of your friends, but I’m not dumb either. I can tell you’ve been cheating on me.” Her face furious, she advanced on him. “That’s why you stood me up those two times, isn’t it?”
“No!” he retreated as far as he could cornered on the couch, hands raised to ward her off. “No, of course not. I told you, it wasn’t on my calendar.”
Wince. Guilt stabbed me in the gut, and I heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Scott’s whisper, that’s what you get.
“I love you, Sweet Blossom,” Bobby said with more emotion than I’d thought he’d be capable of.
“Ha!” she kicked him with the pointed toe of her strappy shoe.
He grimaced and rubbed his shin. “Sweetie, listen—“
“You’re a bad man, Robert Drake.” Tears started to trail down her cheeks again, but I didn’t think she noticed because she was so intent on Bobby. “I loved you with every fiber of my being and you treat me like this.”
“I love you, too!” He protested, his heart in his eyes.
“Liar,” she spat.
Something in my chest lurched sickeningly. What had I done?
Bobby suddenly looked panicked, like it hit him that this was actually happening and that he was losing his Sweet Blossom. He started to get up, but Kitty whirled and headed for the door.
“Wait!” I said.
Everyone paused and turned to look at me.
I flushed. I couldn’t let Kitty and Bobby end like this.
He’d found what I found in Logan—a soul mate. It wasn’t right they they’d break up because I‘d had a less than brilliant idea.
Scott had been right. I hated that.
The weight of their combined stares made me fidget. Shit. How was I going to fix this?
I cleared my throat. “There has to be an explanation for this.”
Kitty harrumphed as Bobby said, “Yes.” She arched her brow in disbelief, crossed her arms, and scowled at me. “What explanation?”
Like me sabotaging Bobby to get him to come to my sister’s party with me. I winced. Put bluntly like that, it really did sound mean.
Kitty tapped her foot impatiently and huffed a couple of times.
“Okay—“ please, let inspiration strike now “---maybe Bobby let a friend use his phone?”
Oh, excellent come back, Marie Xavier. I mentally patted myself on the back. I smiled triumphantly at Kitty.
She didn’t look convinced. Glaring at Bobby, she said, “Did you?”
He frowned. “No, the only person I lent my phone to lately was you, Sweetie.”
She turned to me, eyebrow raised and foot tapping.
I gave Bobby an irritated look. I’d handed him a perfect way out of this situation and he didn’t take it. What an idiot.
But I needed to fix this, so I tried again. “I bet those are just work calls he made. You know, women at the office he has business with.”
I think I heard Kitty mumble, “Yeah, monkey business,” but I figured I was wrong. I widened my eyes at Bobby, imploring him to collaborate with my story.
He shook his head. “I don’t work with anyone named Allison or Melissa. And the only Susan I know is the girl who brings us bagels from the bakery down the street.”
I rolled my eyes. Another great excuse down the drain.
“That leaves Michele. If he did work with her—“ Kitty sniffled and swiped at her cheek impatiently. “—then it’d explain why he stays so late so often. And when he stood me up he said he was at work.” She took a shoe off and beaned him in the middle of his forehead. “Jerk!”
Rubbing the end of my nose, I wondered what to do as she took off her other shoe and chucked it too.
“Wait!” I shouted before she picked up something heavier to hit him with.
Everyone looked at me again.
I had no choice. I had to come clean. I couldn’t let Bobby’s life get screwed up because of a seemingly brilliant plan that was actually Waterloo in the making.
I gazed at Logan to gauge his reaction. He looked puzzled but not necessarily alarmed. Which meant he still had no clue what was going on. How would he react when I admitted everything?
He’d be okay. I reassured myself. He’d remember I loved him. It would be okay.
And if I kept telling myself that, I might believe it.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, Marie, but it’s not going to matter. Bobby obviously doesn’t love me like he said.” She stifled a sob with her fist and started to flee the room.
“Wait! It was all me.”
This time when everyone gawked at me, the looks of confusion were exponentially greater.
I took a deep breath. “I did it. I planted those calls on his cell phone. I changed his calendar so he missed your dates.”
I waited for that feeling of relief you’re supposed to get when you unburden your soul. Didn’t happen. If anything, I felt more wretched. I figured the look of betrayal on Kitty’s face was a big contribution.
“But why?” she asked faintly.
I winced. “That’s a long story.”
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere,” Bobby said with obvious relief now that the heat was off him.
“Um. Well.” I took a deep breath. “My parents never paid attention to me. But then they did, only it was because of Bobby. Except I didn’t find out until I broke up with him. So I thought I could get him back and they’d notice me some more. There was one problem. He’d started dating you.”
Mouth gaping and eyes riveted on me, Kitty eased herself onto the edge of the couch, still away from Bobby but at least she wasn’t throwing things at him anymore. Bobby’s entire being was focused on her.
I nodded. This was the right thing to do, even if it caused some trouble between me and Logan. “So I thought I could break you guys up and then nab him up again.” I cleared my throat. “I’m so sorry.”
Kitty frowned. “But you love Logan.”
“I know.” I glanced at him again, willing him to see I meant it.
His face was closed and his eyes stony. “Why did you agree to go out with me?
Damn. I grimaced. Figured he would ask me that. “Because I was attracted to you?”
“Or were you playing a game?” he asked coldly. “To make Bobby jealous.”
I cleared my throat again. I supposed lying when you were coming clean wasn’t a good idea. “I might have briefly considered that, yes.”
“I see.” He stood up and turned to Bobby and Kitty. “I’ll take Marie home and leave you two to work things out.”
They both nodded mechanically, as if not believing what was happening.
Logan came to stand in front of me, his beautiful eyes staring at me like I was a stranger. “Let’s go.”
My heart cracked, enough that it shot piercing pain through my chest. But I nodded and followed him out of the house. In the car, when it was just the two of us, I’d make him understand.
Somehow I managed to wait until we were both buckled and the car running before I twisted in my seat and said, “I can explain everything.”
“You already have.” His voice was flat and his hands gripped the steering wheel like it was a lifeline.
Not a good sign. “No. Well, yeah, I did, but you don’t understand—“
“I think I got a pretty good idea of what happened.” He pulled out of the parking space, driving extra carefully. I think I would have felt better if he were driving like a maniac, to tell the truth. The overly careful driving, and the way his jaw was gritted, showed me just how angry he was at me.
Like I said before, not a good sign. So I tried again. “It’s not like how you think. I—“
“Which part?” He asked. “The part where you used me or the part where you lied?”
“I never lied to you.”
He glanced at me with one raised brow.
“I didn’t.” I banged my fist on the dashboard. Then I realized what I did and rubbed the console, silently apologizing for any damage I might have done. You can’t treat a thing of beauty callously. Ironic, since that was exactly how I treated Logan. “I never lied to you. Every second I was with you was genuine.”
“You still used me. What makes it worse is that I told you about the girl I chased to New York, and you still did it.”
I winced. “Maybe just a teensy bit in the beginning.” I held up my hand to forestall what he might say. “But it was just the first time or so that we went out. I kind of forgot about Bobby after that.”
“Kind of forgot,” he repeated slowly. “That’s really reassuring.”
The sarcasm in his voice cut to my heart. “Don’t be like that,” I whispered.
“Like what? What shouldn’t I be like? I shouldn’t be hurt? Because I am. I thought we had something different.”
Ouch. “We did. I mean, we do—“
“Bullshit,” he said bluntly, staring ahead. “You deceived me. You thought I could serve your purpose and you manipulated me until you had all the pieces of your little chess game in the right place to go in for the win.”
I wanted to argue with him, but he was right. “Okay. I admit it. In the beginning I was going to use you. But that was only in the beginning. Once I got to know you, I couldn’t do that. And even in the beginning, I couldn’t keep my plan firmly in my mind around you—“
“That’s a real consolation,” he muttered bitterly.
“You’re not giving me a chance.”
“Give you another chance so—what? You can cheat on me? Lie some more?” He shook his head. “I should have listened to Bobby.”
I blinked. “What?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Bobby warned me not to trust you. I thought he still had feelings for you that would fade when he got closer to Pryde. Guess I should have listened.”
My reply was silence. What could I say to that?
Staring unseeingly out the windshield, I rubbed my nose, which tingled with the tears in my eyes that I was trying to hide. I would not cry. I would not. No matter how much I wanted him to stop the car, take me in his arms, and tell me he forgave me. No matter how unlikely that was at this point.
He pulled over and put the car in park.
My heart beat so hard in my chest I thought it was going to burst out. I put a hand over it to calm it and turned to Logan expectantly. The hope that he’d give me another chance was almost painful.
Then he said, “We’re here.”
I looked up to see my house, lit brightly from within, and hope died in my chest.
I slumped against the seat. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“The trick is learning to live with it.” he mumbled.
I whirled to face him. “Did you just quote MacGyver?”
He heaved a sigh and rubbed his face. “Just go, Marie.”
The tears I tried so hard to suppress broke free. I swiped them as I pointed at him. “You may be mad now—“
“Mad?” His laugh contained no trace of humor. “That doesn’t even cover it. Try furious. And more than disappointed in you.”
I’d had people disappointed in me all my life. Logan saying it shouldn’t have fazed me, but it hurt more than I could have imagined. I wanted to lash out at him and tell him to take a number and stand in line, but my tears choked the words in my throat.
I threw the door open, scrambled out, and slammed it shut. Head high, I walked slowly up the walk, to the porch steps. I got all the way to the front door with my key in the lock before I heard his engine rev. I turned around in time to see him race off down the street.
My heart broke. I swear it did. I felt the already slightly cracked pieces shatter and crumble inside me as he drove off. The only guy I’d ever truly loved in an all-consuming, man-woman kind of way—my soul mate—and I’d messed it up.
I looked up at the light shining in the living room window. It was Jean’s fault.
Shoving open the front door, I yelled up the stairs. “Jeannie! Where the hell are you?”
“The living room,” she called back.
I stomped up the stairs—or at least I tried to. My heels made it impossible to make any kind of satisfying noise so I had to pause halfway up to take them off so I could make enough of a thump.
Jean was curled on the couch with a Cosmo, wearing a pair of my pajamas. “You made enough noise coming up the stairs. I’m surprised your tenant doesn’t complain.”
For a moment, the incongruity of the scene—what happened to the science digests and wool slacks?—distracted me. I gawked at her, sitting there speaking calmly when the world was falling apart.
She flipped another page. “And I told you to stop calling me Jeannie.”
But that snapped me out of my stupor. I dropped my shoes and pointed at her. “You are the Antichrist.”
“Excuse me?” She looked up from her magazine and blinked at me.
“This is all your fault.” I pointed at her.
She frowned. “What?”
“All of this.” I waved my arms around. “You’ve ruined everything.”
“Have you been drinking?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“That’s not the point here, Jean,” I yelled. “The point is you’re an albatross around my neck.”
“What does a bird have to do with anything?”
“A bird has nothing to do with this!” Grr. I paced across the living room and back. The woman was absolutely clueless. “The only thing that has to do with anything here is that you’ve ruined my life.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Because I came home early last night? I already apologized for that. You need to learn to forgive.”
“Jean.” I snapped my fingers. “Focus for a change on something other than yourself.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Of course she didn’t. “Aside from the fact that you’ve totally disrupted my life since you’ve been here—“
“I’ve tried to keep out of your way, and I think I’ve done a good job,” she said, straightening indignantly.
“Ha!” I barked. “Like when you took apart my office? Or when you took out MacGyver? Or, wait--- maybe when you raided my closet without asking?” I looked her up and down.
She huddled defensively. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“That’s the problem with you, Jean. For someone who’s so smart, you don’t think.”
“I resent that.”
I stopped pacing to spear her with a look. “Give me a break. Did you pause to consider how I felt lying to Mom and Dad? You know they’re going to blame me if they find out you were here.”
“They won’t find out.”
“Ha! Mom always finds out, and I take the blame.”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “Mom and Dad never expect anything from you.”
“Because they never even pay attention to me. And I have you to thank for that.”
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“YOU,” I yelled, pointing. “All they ever talk about is their precious little Jean. They don’t even know I exist when you’re around.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
I felt years of resentment bubble up and overflow out my mouth. “Exaggerate? Right. Like when they forgot my birthday because you finalized in the science fair? Like when they took you with them to Africa but left me at home?”
“You were starting college,” She said defensively.
“And you weren’t in school?” Now that I started, I couldn’t stop. I felt years of rage seep out of my pores. “Even after you moved away, all I heard was how brilliant you were, how giving you were for de-worming orphans in Somalia—“
“It was Rwanda.”
“—and why wasn’t I more like you.” I stood over her and glared. “You know what? I’m sick of it.”
She stood up, shaking. I would have thought it was with repressed emotion, but I doubted she was capable of feeling that deeply.
“You know what? I’m sick of it, too.”
“Huh?” I blinked. I hated reverse psychology.
“You think it’s easy being me?” She scowled at me, her hands on her hips.
Was this a trick question?
“It’s not,” she yelled.
I recoiled, trying to remember Jean ever raising her voice, even when we were kids. Nope. She was the calm one. I was the one who whooped and screamed.
“I’m sick of all the expectations.” She started to pace, her arms wildly flying around her. “I’m sick of having to be perfect.”
I was so shocked, I toppled onto the couch as she swept by me. “Jeannie—“
“DON’T CALL ME THAT,” she screeched. “And don’t interrupt me.”
I sat back and shut up—that’s how freaked out I was.
“I’m so sick of being the example,” she ranted. “Why can’t I be free like you? Why do I have to have all the pressures of performing Do you know how hard that is?”
I opened my mouth to reply—
“Don’t say anything,” she said, glaring at me. “I’m not done.”
My mouth clamped shut.
“All my life I’ve done the right thing and I’m damn tired of it.”
Jean cussing? Okay, now I was really worried.
“I didn’t want to be a research scientist. I didn’t want to be responsible. But does anyone listen to me? NO.” she stamped her foot. “I’m always expected to be perfect.”
“But—“
“I said don’t interrupt me!” She screamed, beating her fist against her thigh.
Oh, hell—she was going off the deep end and I had no one to help me.
“I’m fed up with having to be perfect. I want to be like you.” She glared at me like I had stolen her favorite toy.
“Um,” I waited for her to yell at me, but when she didn’t, I decided to go for it. “What do you mean, you want to be like me?”
“I mean I want to do what I want, not what other people expect me to do. Like dance on a bar.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You want to dance on a bar? For a living?
“You never listen! None of you ever listen.” She growled, huffed off to her room, and slammed the door shut.
I stared after her. Even in misery she had to overshadow me.
Then I remembered the look on Logan’s face as he drove off and tears filled my eyes again.
What did it all matter? It was too late. I’d royally screwed up.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Right, well, this isn't at all what I originally had planned for the double-date scene. But a combination of a craptastic evening, followed by far too much solo pity drinking, and I was not in a foofy mood. I felt like it was time that people aired out their dirty laundry. This is the result and I'm rolling with it.
Chapter End Notes:
sorry again for typos. I think I'm going to start accepting applications for a beta reader if anyone's interested. I just can't seem to do it on my own.