I did and she did...scream my name...more than once. In fairness, I screamed hers too, more than once.
My alarm went off and I slipped out of bed. After I showered and dressed, I kissed her and told her goodbye. She told me not to reset the security system because Alana would be in very early. I promised to call her later that morning.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Terri
I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to lay in bed and wallow in my self pity, but that wasn’t what I’d do. I wasn’t the “take to my bed” kind of girl. Besides, Alana would be here any minute, so I forced my butt into the shower and got ready for work.
By the time I was dressed, Alana was already in the office, working away.
“Hey, I heard the shower running. I didn’t want to bother you, so I just figured I’d get to work.” She looked up from the computer and she faced scrunched up. “Wow, you don’t look so good.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Just what I wanted to hear.”
“What’s up? Wait. Never mind.”
“No, something is up that I was going to tell you about.”
“More stuff?”
“Oh, you won’t believe this shit.” I told her how I’d caught my dad and Angela in the act.
“Ew. That’s just plain sick. Disgusting. I can’t believe her.”
“I can’t believe him.”
Alana got up from her perch at the computer and came to give me a hug. “I am so very sorry you’re having to deal with all of this. This is just not right Terri.”
“Well, it’s not like we get to choose what’s dumped in our laps now, is it?”
“No, but you’ve been through enough as it is. You didn’t need this added pile of crap.”
“Thanks girl, but everyone has their share of stuff too. I’m not the only one who’s been through it you know.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do, just let me know. By the way, I found this on the floor of your living room when I came in this morning. I hope it was because you had a fun night.” She laughed as she handed me an unused condom, still in the package.
I looked at it like it was a two headed monster, and she started laughing.
“Your expression is priceless. You look like you’ve never seen one of those before.”
“Well, probably because I haven’t in a long time and I have no idea how it got here.”
She snickered and said, “Maybe you should ask that man of yours.”
I was looking at it and things were rolling through my mind at the speed of light. “No, we don’t need them. I’m a little baffled by it. I’ll ask him of course. Where was it again?”
“By the front door near the sofa as you head into the living room.”
My mind churned with WTF’s over how this thing got into my house. My first guess was the most obvious being Justin, but we didn’t use them. So why would he even have one, unless he still carried them from his past days? My suspicions of him started to emerge. I had no reason not to trust him. Until he gave me a reason not to, I shouldn’t be going down this road. I needed to ask him about this. And I would do that as soon as I could.
Pushing any other thoughts of this down, I forced myself to focus on the business and getting everything ready to crank as Terri Mitchell Real Estate.
“So when do you start classes?” I asked Alana.
“Next week. I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be. You’re going to have an advantage over everyone since you already have an impressive knowledge of the business.”
“Thanks Terri.”
“Well, let’s get to work, shall we?”
By the end of the day, we had everything set up how we wanted it.
********
Later that night, after I got home from the gym, I saw that Justin had texted me several times. I called him back.
“Hey.”
“Where’ve you been? I’ve been worried about you.”
“Sorry. I had to hit the gym. I missed a couple of workouts.”
“Is everything okay?”
I could tell he knew something was up.
“You didn’t by any chance leave a condom behind today did you?”
“What?”
“Alana found a condom in the living room when she came in this morning.”
“Um Terri, you know I don’t use those honey.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’d figured you’d say.”
I was met with silence.
Then he asked, “Why do I get the feeling you’re suspicious of me?”
“I guess it’s because my employee found an unwrapped condom in my living room this morning. I’ve never ever bought one of those things. That’s why. I was trying to figure out how the damn thing got there.”