I hadn’t looked at my phone all night. I probably had a dozen missed calls and messages, wondering where I was.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
Con had gone white as a sheet. Whiter than those shoes had ever been. He dropped my hand like it had caught fire. A chasm opened between us instantly.
“Dad, is that you?” Halley’s voice called from the kitchen. We had only moments before she came around the corner and saw us.
Instinctively, I stumbled back into the elevator. I caught a glimpse of Con’s eyes, wild and dark, before the doors slid closed. I jabbed the Lobby button desperately, terrified that the doors would slide back open for some reason and Halley would see me. There would be no covering this up if she did. My hair was disheveled from the ride up and I was wearing fuck me heels the likes of which she’d never seen on me.
If the ride up had been heaven, the ride back down was hell. As soon as the relief of escaping faded, a wretched shame took its place.
What was I doing, running away from the man I loved and hiding from my best friend? I’d only done the requisite Psych 101 course my freshman year, but even I knew those two things meant there was something fundamentally wrong. There was no exception to the rule.
I walked down the block to the safety and loneliness of my building. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent a night here alone. Even in my wretched state, I felt lucky that Con and I spent most of his time at his place. If Halley had walked in on us in her condo…
Chills raced through me. I let myself into the condo and leaned back against the closed door. Down the hallway, I could see the back of the pink couch. The edge of the island in the kitchen. Places Con and I had made love. We’d gotten very lucky that we’d happened to go out tonight.
How long would our luck hold?
How long could we keep hiding?
How long would I still want to?