Stage Dive 02 Play(54)
“You do?” asked David.
“Yep.” She gave him a piercing look. “We’re starting early.”
He got the drift. “Right. Yeah.”
I don’t remember much about us leaving. Between Ev and Lizzy, I was hustled out of there damn fast to a big black Escalade waiting outside. The beefy, bald man standing beside it was strangely familiar.
“Hi,” I said. “Didn’t you put the bolt on my door the other day?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s Sam. Sam, this is Anne. She’s one of us.” Ev slid into the backseat and buckled up, while Lizzy jumped in the front. She bounced her butt up and down on the plush leather. It was good to know someone was enjoying the lap of luxury. I could have given two shits if we were in some smelly old cab.
“Lovely to meet you, ma’am,” said Sam. “Good to see you as always, Mrs. Ferris.”
I climbed in and buckled up.
“I don’t understand,” said Lizzy.
“About?” I asked.
Lizzy twisted in her seat so she could see me. “This. He makes you happier than I’ve ever seen. It’s like you’re a different person. He looks at you like you invented whipped cream. Now this. I don’t understand.”
I shrugged trying my best to keep my face calm, neutral. “Whirlwind romance. Easy come, easy go.”
“I’m going to need a rusty shovel, Sam,” said Ev.
“I’ll get right on that, Mrs. Ferris.” He pulled out of the parking lot.
“Excellent. We better go pick up Lauren. She’ll want to be included in this.”
“And what is this?” I asked. “We’re not really doing girl’s night out are we?”
Her face let me know that hell yes we were.
“You know, I’m not really in the mood right now. But that’s very sweet of you.”
“Sam?” Ev sang out almost merrily.
“Yes, Mrs. Ferris?”
“If I needed your help kidnapping our Anne here and making her drink with me, would that be a problem?”
“Of course not, Mrs. Ferris. Anything for you.”
“You sweet dear man,” she cooed. “You know he used to be a navy seal. I wouldn’t mess with him, but you do whatever you feel you need to, Anne.”
“You’re kind of evil when you get going.” I stared out the window, letting the scenery slip by.
Ev held her peace. For all of a moment. “I don’t know what the hell Mal was thinking back there letting that skank climb all over him.”
Lizzy snorted. “I’m not sure he was thinking.”
Me, neither. But I didn’t say that.
The truth was, Mal and I might have broken up. Our fake relationship could be over. Who knew? What a truly god-awful horrible fucking notion. I blinked profusely. Must have had something in my eye. Honestly, I wasn’t the crying type. So my crush had been crushed. Life goes on. Whatever Lizzy knew, or thought she knew, she wouldn’t say a word. And me, I had no comment to make on the subject.
Nothing.
Though, this was exactly why getting overly attached to people wasn’t smart. If there was a chance their absence would make things heartrending, walk away. No one should have the power to make you want to throw some manic-depressive episode and swallow a truckload of gin (my mom’s favorite method for dealing with such disappointments). I guess you needed to learn these lessons over sometimes. Well, I had it now. All good.
***
Mal didn’t come home Sunday night. Not that my apartment was home, but you know what I mean.
Despite the drinks poured into me, I didn’t get much sleep.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
By the time I fired off the fifth text for the day, lunchtime had come and gone.
Anne: I can drop your stuff at David & Ev’s if you want. Just let me know.
Like the previous ones, this text garnered no response. Zip. Nada. Nothing. I couldn’t help myself. I had to try again.
Anne: I hope we can still be friends.
The minute I sent it regret swamped me. It was such a dumb-ass standard boring thing to say. Why didn’t smartphones come with an “undo” button? Now that would be an app worth having. I should’ve tried to be more original. Maybe if I’d been funny about it, thrown in something witty about his drum kit or something, he’d respond. But again I got nothing.
“Still texting him?” asked Reece from where he was busy reshuffling books in the action/adventure section.
“Mm-hmm.”
“No response yet?”
“No.”
Worst Monday ever. I’d managed to talk Reece into letting me tidy up out back all morning, thus eliminating any need for conversation. With only two, maybe three, hours of sleep under my belt, I wasn’t human. Not really. I was a nasty, bitchy, ball of heartache. Had Ainslie soothed Mal’s man pain? Images of them entangled filled my head. I’d seen almost all of his body, so the details were vivid.