Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“She’s not pissed at her.”
“Fuckin’ hell. It’s like we’re talkin’ in circles.”
“None of us can understand why it’s Harper,” Lou said, her voice rising. “Like, seriously? Harp is awesome, but she doesn’t even live here. So, what, you guys are going to hook up for a while and then she’s going to leave and it’ll just be weird for everyone?”
I jerked in surprise.
“You serious right now?”
“It’s just a weird choice for you.”
“Harper’s gorgeous and smart as fuck and funny. Don’t think she’d be a weird choice for anyone.”
“Okay then.”
“You’ve never given a single shit who I was seein’, so I’m a little confused about you carin’ what me and Harper are up to.”
“I don’t care.”
“Seems to me, the entire fuckin’ club cares.”
“I can’t control everyone else.”
“No, but you’re one of my best friends, so I would’ve thought you’d have my back.”
“I always have your back.”
“Except when people are gossipin’ about me, right?”
“Bas, you’re blowing this whole thing out of proportion.”
“Don’t think I’m the one who’s doin’ that,” I replied pointedly. “Have fun at Myla’s.”
“Don’t be pissed at me.”
“Harper’s got enough goin’ on right now, so maybe tell your little coven to lay off, yeah?”
“What does Harper have going on?”
“My dinner’s burnin’, Lou. I’ll talk to you later.”
I hung up and tossed my phone onto the couch. It was hard to believe that even Lou hadn’t shut that shit down when she’d heard people talking. I hadn’t noticed any of it, but I’d been pretty much in my own head the rest of the night, and people wouldn’t have talked when I was in hearing distance anyway.
I’d hung out with Lou that night and she hadn’t said shit—
My stomach lurched hard at the realization that I hadn’t just hung with Lou that night. We’d slept in the same fucking bed. By the time everyone else had cleared out and there were only a few of the core group left, we’d all headed upstairs to crash. The little girls slept in twin beds, but I went straight into the king in my old room before anyone else could take it. Lou had followed me in sometime later and passed out on the other side of the bed, and I hadn’t thought anything of it. We’d slept in the same bed plenty of times, but it wasn’t as if anything happened. A couple of years before, we would have cuddled or whatever, but we hadn’t done that in a long time—not since we decided we weren’t going to move things in that direction. It was better not to blur the lines, especially since we spent so much time together.
I knew that. Lou knew that. But anyone else who’d spent the night or been at Titus and Noel’s the next morning would’ve seen us coming out of that room together.
After I’d been caught with my hand up Harper’s shirt the night before.
Fuck my life.
Chapter 5
Harper
At some point in my life, I was going to make good choices. I was going to eat vegetables and floss my teeth twice a day, and I wasn’t going to maul Bas no matter how he looked at me.
I was on my way in my newly borrowed car to meet up with Nova. Now that I had a ride, I figured it was easier to meet her at the bookstore than to have her drive all the way to pick me up. A new book was just what I needed after the past two days.
I’d been so flustered after my encounter with Bas that I’d immediately gone home and turned my phone on for no other reason than to take my mind off him. I’d been prepared for a slew of emails and voicemails, but the sheer number of them had been a surprise. Paige had called me fourteen times and left twelve voicemails. She’d emailed me five times. HR had also called. A colleague from work that I thought was almost a friend had sent a couple of emails. Refordable had left three messages on my phone and two emails.
Bas had called four times and left a voicemail.
It was a lot.
I’d gone through the voicemails first. Paige’s messages had gone from cajoling me to calling her back so we could work things out to eventually threatening to sue me for breach of contract if I didn’t contact her right away. HR was trying to get in touch about my separation paperwork.
Refordable’s attorneys had reached out to verify that I hadn’t taken any internal files with me when I’d left—which was ridiculous but easily answered. I never took any work home with me, including theirs. I’d always worked on their computers using their encryption software.
I called Refordable back first, assuring them that I never took any files out of the office. Then I called human resources and told the woman I talked to that direct deposit worked just fine for my last check and asked her to email me any paperwork they needed, and I’d send it back to them.