Page 19 of Bridesmaid By Chance
The moment the words fall past my lips, I know I’ve gone too far.
Oh shit.
The truths were supposed to be about him.
Not me.
His face grows serious. “Sitting on my face?”
“Uh, did I say that?” I ask, a flitty laugh falling past my lips. “I don’t think that’s what I said.”
“That’s exactly what you said.”
I tap my chin. “Hmm, doesn’t sound like me.”
“Sloane,” he says in that dangerous tone all over again.
“Yes?”
I wait for him to say something, anything, but when he doesn’t, I take that as my sign to get the hell out of here.
With a quick 180 on my heels, I turn away from him and head for my desk, where I open my desk drawer, grab my purse, and then start shoving bags of fruit snacks inside. Freida just refreshed my supplies, and there’s no way I’m leaving without them.
When I catch Hudson leaning against the door to his office, arms crossed, watching me, I take that moment to toss a fruit snack packet at him. “See? We don’t like your snacks.”
He catches it with one hand, and I don’t allow myself to consider just how hot that was.
I straighten, grab the picture of me, Jude, and Stacey on the beach in Bora Bora from Jude’s wedding, and hold it close to my chest.
The pens can stay. I have no attachment.
The Post-it notes that I would cut into hearts on slow days, they must be left behind.
And my notebook with every detail I ever wrote about Hudson’s insufferable meetings can die in this office. Hopefully, he will flip through it and see just how boring he can be.
False pride trying to lead the way, I start my walk of unemployment toward the elevator when I think of one last thing.
I face Hudson again and say, “When you speak of this to Jude, please let him know that not one fruit snack was left behind in my retreat, but for the love of God, don’t mention the sitting-on-the-face thing, even though I don’t recall saying that?—”
“So you’re just going to lie like that?”
“Call it temporary amnesia. Either way. No thanks to that detail. Okay, well, great working with you, take care, ’kay, love you, bye.” I pause, my eyes widening. “No, I mean, notI love you. I don’t love you. I don’t know why I said that. It was a slip of the tongue. There is no love and no…no sitting on the face. Got it?” He just stares at me. “Okay, looks like you got it. And just in case you missed it the first time, you look like trash in the brown suit.”
With that, I turn away from him and head toward the elevator, a purse full of fruit snacks, a chest brimming with pride, and a stomach bubbling with embarrassment.
“Why is it so dark in here?” Stacey asks, walking into the living room where I’m perched on the corner of the back of the couch like an owl on a branch, leaning against the wall, empty fruit snack wrappers scattered below me. “Whoa, what’s going on in here?” Stacey sets the mail downon the coffee table and takes a seat on the couch. “You realize the couch is meant to be sat on like this, not like what you’re doing at the moment?”
“I know,” I say, opening up another pack of fruit snacks and eating one while I stare off toward the wall.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Stacey looking over at what I’m staring at and then back at me. “Care to explain to me why you’re acting like a parrot in the dark, eating fruit snacks?”
I pop another in my mouth and chew. “Just rethinking my life decisions today.”
“And what life decisions would those be?” she asks as she picks up the mail and starts sorting through it. Between the two of us, Stacey is the one who likes to take care of everything around the house and then dictate to me what needs to be done. It only works out because I don’t mind her bossing me around about chores, and she thoroughly enjoys being the leader of the household, especially now that Jude’s living with Haisley.
“Umm, decisions,” I answer.
She pauses sifting through the mail and gives me that look only a twin can give, where they can practically see into your soul. “Don’t make me pry it out of you. I’m exhausted from work today.”
