Page 118 of The Devil We Crave
I nod. “Yes. I just…it was so clingy and?—”
“Dude,stop.” She frowns. “I don’t care if you guys are dating, or it’s a situation, or you just wanted to get laid.” Her frown deepens. “Zero communication after you lost your virginity to him is just plainrude!”
I exhale. “That’s not me being weird?”
“No!” she says indignantly. “I mean, how were things left afterward?”
My mouth twists. “I went to the bathroom…after the wholethanking himthing…and when I got back, he was gone.”
She stares at me, and slowly, her mouth pulls to a tight line.
“I lied,” she mutters. “I do want to know who this fucker is, so I can kill him.”
I groan and bury my face in my hands. Ari gets up, quickly walks around the table and sits back down next to me, wrapping me in a hug.
“Seriously, Lena,” she murmurs. “I’m sorry. That’s super shitty. But don’t for a second blame yourself. That’sinsane. The asshole got bent out of shape because youthanked him? What, is he allergic to common courtesy?”
It’s a possibility.
She pulls back and looks me in the eye. “Do you…I mean, were you like…”
I shake my head. “Oh, I wanted it. It’s not like he forced me or talked me into it. And we bothknewit was just sex.” I lift a shoulder. “I dunno, I’ve always put sex and love into different boxes. Is that weird?”
“Yeah, remember the part where my parents run a sex club?”
I burst out laughing, and keep going until tears run down my cheeks.
“Thank you for listening,” I finally wheeze. “I needed that.”
She grins. “No problem. Look, if there are no feelings involved, maybe he’s just being a dick becausehedoesn’t want to seem clingy?” She frowns. “Have you tried reaching out to him?”
I shake my head.
Arianna smiles. “Maybe this is just a huge misunderstanding between two dumbasses who are ignoring each other because neither one wants to look clingy.”
Shit.
I hadn't thought of that.
She rolls her eyes at my stunned expression. “Okay, try this. Text him once. If he responds, great. If he doesn’t, well…” She shrugs.
“It is what it is?”
“Bingo,” she grins.
I sigh heavily as I yank out my phone. “For a girl who’s never had a relationship, you arefreakishlygood at navigating this shit.”
She laughs. “Please don’t forget to recommend my services to all your emotionally damaged friends once I open my practice.”
“So, basically our entire current friend circle?”
Ari giggles and then turns her attention to her phone as I send a message to Achilles.
Me
Hi. Just wanted to touch base.
Fuck.
