Page 72 of The Ring
“Do you want me to accompany you to the door?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “There’s no need; I know the way. Can I call you later?”
“Yes, please,” I reply, smiling. This was exactly what I was expecting—after all, that’s why I gave him my phone number at the nightclub yesterday.
He glances back at Anthony as if contemplating something, seems to come to a decision, and leans in to give me a quick kiss before leaving.
“So handsome,” I murmur under my breath once he is out of earshot.
Anthony points towards the door Benedict just walked out of. “May I ask you why?”
“I believe you saw him naked a few minutes ago.” I don’t think I need to explain any further.
He looks at me, confused. “But hasn’t TJ been sleeping over every single day since your birthday?”
“Yes, and?” I say, slightly annoyed.
I was having such a good time, I didn’t need to be reminded of him. I hadn’t thought about him since I noticed that, when we came out of the cleaning cupboard, he was gone—which was an accomplishment in itself, because even when I don’t want to, my mind seems to wander back to him. As if it’s a factory setting.
“So you two aren’t back together?” Did he really have to ask that? Wasn’t the fact I’d just slept with Benedict answer enough?
“No,” I almost shout. “He slept with my mother.”
Anthony looks slightly uncomfortable and disappointed as I say it—something you’d barely notice unless you knew him as I do. From his reaction, you’d think it was the other way around, that he’d just found out I slept with my ex, the one who slept with our mother, and that I was now telling him nothing was happening between me and the nice guy who hasn’t done anything wrong.
He gets up from the barstool. “Hate to break it to you, but if you’re looking for men who haven’t slept with your mother, you’ll find there are very few left in London,” he jokes, though it’s probably true.
“I’ll settle for them not having slept with her while we were dating,” I reply.
Anthony looks sad for a second. “I’m going upstairs to get some papers so we can head to the office. And maybe, on the way there, we can talk about raising your standards in men.”
“Haha,” I fake-laugh, not finding his comment funny.
“We’re leaving in about thirty minutes, so be ready.” He picks an apple from the fruit bowl on top of the kitchen island and tosses it at me. “And eat that—and something more,” he adds, walking away.
Chapter 41
TJ
Iregain consciousness, and beside me in my bed lies a girl asleep—and, for the very first time in months, it’s someone I didn’t have sex with the night before.
After West’s party, I brought Weberly home, but all we did was drink and talk. Well, she mostly talked, and I listened, nodding sporadically. I didn’t want to have sex with anyone, but I also didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts, so this arrangement worked out fine. Besides, she didn’t seem to want anything more, either. Eventually, we moved from the living room to my bed, where we both fell asleep.
I step out of my room, being extra careful not to wake her—not exactly out of consideration, but more because I don’t want West to see her here. Before she leaves, I need to make sure the coast is clear. If West sees her, regardless of the fact that nothing happened, I’ll never hear the end of it.
I reach the living area, and Laurie and West are both at the kitchen table.Fantastic.Now there’s probably no way to avoid Weberly being seen by at least one of them.
West is sitting at the table, his head cradled in his hands,looking severely hungover. Instead of being here, he should be in bed sleeping, but he can never sleep in—it’s like he has an internal alarm clock. I used to be jealous of that in boarding school, but now I’m just glad I’m not him. He looks absolutely miserable.
Laurie seems like he just arrived, as he is unpacking a takeout paper bag.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask Laurie, approaching them.
“I thought you two would be hungover, so I brought food and coffee,” he responds casually, as if it’s something he does all the time. Sometimes he does when he has nothing better to do—but this time, it feels… weird.
I see the takeout coffee cups on the table and immediately reach for one, sitting down. I didn’t drink much at the party, but when I brought Weberly here, between the two of us, we finished an entire bottle of bourbon. It was mostly her, but I’m still feeling a little hungover.
As Laurie takes bagels out of the bag, and I wake up more, I notice his black shirt is wrinkled. We didn’t talk much at West’s masquerade, but I’m pretty sure he’s wearing yesterday’s clothes.
