“We did have drinks and dinner with his boarding school friends a few times,” April admitted finally. “And they told me a few things, but Mr. Bennett will fire me if I tell you any of them.”
“What were they like?” Garcia pressed. “Playboys like him? Stuffed shirts?”
“Um, neither from what I could tell.” April narrowed her eyes as she thought about it. “They seemed very playful, but I don’t think they spend a lot of time chasing tail. I’m about ninety percent sure they were a couple.”
“Aw. Can we get them instead of him, then?” Jessie said.
Garcia shook his head at her. “It’s not like he flirts with you. April puts up with way more than you do.”
“He doesn’t. I mean, he’s not bothering me,” April protested.
“He does enough that I think Babette is about to throttle him,” Jessie said. “They dated back in Atlanta.”
“Oh, dear God, can we stop with the gossip?” Garcia sat down to his laptop. “April, I’d like to get your thoughts on these final comments from the contractors. We’re almost ready to go here.”
“Great. Let’s do work.” April sat next to him and tried to focus.
When Samson came into the office, though, she couldn’t help how her eyes drifted to him. She was going to give herself away if she weren’t careful. He might have been practiced at covering up affairs, but she’d never been good at hiding anything.
***
A few days of separation was too much. April was glad she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. She was beginning to fear that Samson would be done with his “fun” now that they were back in town, but come Wednesday, he called her into his office for a meeting and asked her if she would like to go exploring in this city as well.
Of course, the answer was yes.
Friday after work, April fought the traffic frantically and then rushed up to the apartment to freshen up and change before Samson came to pick her up. She was standing in front of her mirror trying to decide between two outfits when Lana knocked on the door.
“Come in. I need the advice of someone in fashion!”
Lana came in and dropped onto April’s bed. “Hey there, girl,” she said flirtatiously.
“Which one should I wear?”
“Is this for a daaaate?”
“Yes, it’s a daaaate. Help me! I don’t have that much time.”
“First date, or…?”
“Um… We’ve spent a lot of time together…”
“Have you gone out to eat?”
“We’ve, um, stayed in to eat.”
Lana looked at April suspiciously. It was that little eyebrow furrow that Samson did sometimes when he suspected she was teasing him but not quite certain.
“We’ve spent most of our time together having sex,” April admitted.
Lana shot up. “Oh my God! When?! You never told me you finally lost your flower!”
“I didn’t lose it, you weirdo. I offered it to him under the table, and he came running.”
Lana threw one hand against her head and fanned herself with the other. “Oh, my stars! My little girl is growing up!”
“You are the worst! Pick an outfit!”
“No, seriously.” Lana took a look at the outfits, threw them both on the bed, and looked into April’s closet. “Why didn’t you tell me you were thinking of doing that? After all this time?”
“I’m only twenty. It’s not that long of a time since you lost yours.”
“It’s not the amount of time. It’s the amount of opportunity. I was a chubby little creature in school. You’ve always been gorgeous.”
“I have not. I was a genderless scarecrow.” April sat by her mirror and pulled her hair down so she could brush it. She licked her lips. “I didn’t tell you because you know him.”
“Intrigue!” Lana held up a finger and breezed toward the door. “I’ll get you something to wear. Oh! A letter came for you. It’s on the bed.”
April hadn’t noticed it. She grabbed the letter and opened it. As she began to read, her face was consumed in flames.
“Now this will- Oh, God, April. You’re a beet.” Lana put the new dress down and went to April’s side. “What happened?”
“My old apartment complex is demanding thousands of dollars in repairs and rent for the apartment.” April slumped in her chair.
“They can’t do that. You don’t even live there.”
“They’re blaming me for the broken door. And for ‘skipping out’ on my lease.”
“They evicted you. Do they get to demand money for you after they kick you out?”