Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Ellen. She doesn’t even bat a mascara-caked eyelash or take her eyes off the speaker up front. She’s cool as a cucumber as she sips her champagne, a coy smile playing on her lips. One that lets me know she knows I’m watching her.
I make quick work of exiting the hall and finding the closest men’s restroom. Since the speeches have commenced, there’s no one around except a couple slipping out of a closet, their clothes a little rumpled and their hair askew. Makes me wonder if they’re here together or if happenstance brought them to that supply closet.
I use the restroom quickly, noting that no one else is inside. When I’m washing my hands, the door behind me opens. Glancing up as I’m lathering has my stomach dropping into my toes. Ellen stands there, her arms crossed, pressing her boobs up and practically out of her red dress. Reaching for the towel, I keep my eyes on her the entire time. Not because I’m attracted to her, but because I don’t trust her.
“There a line for the ladies’ restroom?” I ask, throwing the paper towel into the trash bin and turning to face her.
She smiles even wider as she slowly starts to walk my way. “No,” she replies, coming to a stop directly in front of me. Her wide eyes are completely different than Cricket’s. First off, the color is all wrong, but there’s something else too. Where Cricket’s are full of innocence and vulnerability, Ellen’s are full of seduction and experience. “But the view is so much better in here than anywhere else,” she adds, placing her hands on my lapel and sliding them upward.
I grab her hands and stop them before they can reach my neck. “Stop, Ellen.”
“Stop what?” she asks, batting her eyelashes and giving me another coy smile.
“Stop playing games. I’m with Cricket,” I tell her, taking a step back, my ass hitting the sink.
Ellen rolls her eyes. “Pssh, I don’t mind sharing,” she replies, throwing her arms around my neck.
I practically toss her off me, causing her to stumble in her too-high heels. “Well, I do mind,” I state plainly, adjusting my cuff links and necktie. “I’m not interested, Ellen. Go back out to Danny.”
Again, she rolls her eyes and steps up beside me at the sink, wiping any lipstick smudges off her skin. “Danny? And who do you think is keeping him company right now, Rueben?” she asks.
Jealousy races through me in a way it never has before. I don’t want to think about Danny and Cricket together, not after everything we’ve shared in the last twenty-four hours. Yes, it’s hard to believe it was only yesterday afternoon that we ran into each other at the airport, but so much has happened in that short amount of time, and I’m definitely not ready for that to end. Even more so, I’m not ready to lose her, especially to Danny Ohara.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I say, walking right by her and heading for the door. “My girlfriend is waiting for me.”
She doesn’t turn around, but our eyes lock in the mirror. “Don’t be silly, Rueben. We both know she’ll pick him. They always pick him,” she says, vocalizing my greatest fear come to life and making my heart hammer in my chest.
It wouldn’t be the first time a girl chose Danny over me. In college, before he was dating Cricket, there was this girl, Aimee, who lived in the same dorm building as us. She was a floor below us, but I often found us passing on the stairs or eating lunch in the common area at the same time. She was beautiful and driven—way out of my league—and had the sweetest smile. I saw her one night at some off-campus party Danny convinced me to go to, and I made the mistake of telling him I thought she was hot. I ended up heading home earlier than him, mostly because I wasn’t into the shit that was passed around the later the night went on.
Next morning, I woke up and found her in my roommate’s bed. He could have had anyone at that party, yet he took home the one girl there I told him I liked. When they woke, Danny played ignorant, like he had no clue how she got there, and I didn’t call him out on his blatant lie. Should I have? Fuck, yes. In hindsight, I should have confronted him on taking her home, bringing her back to the small dorm we shared together, but I didn’t. Technically, I had no claim to the girl. I was just a computer geek with a crush. So I let it go, but never told him of any of my crushes again.
Now, his girlfriend—or whatever it is Ellen is considered—is telling me he’s out there, keeping my girl company, and insinuating they’ll be back together in no time. My mind goes right back to that morning where I found him and Aimee in bed together. Jealousy is a bitter pill to swallow, and right now, I’m doing a terrible job of keeping it down.
Then I stop and picture Cricket. Sweet, beautiful Cricket. Someone who fell for his charms once before, but vowed she wouldn’t be caught dead near the man again. In fact, she probably has a voodoo doll in his likeness, and late at night, she drinks a bottle of wine and sticks needles into his eye sockets and groin.
That thought makes me smile.
I realize in that moment, I trust her. With everything.
Including my heart.
I smile at the woman in the mirror. She returns the grin, thinking she has me under her spell. “You know what, Ellen, I believe you’re wrong. Cricket doesn’t want Danny any more than I want you.” Her smile falls from her painted lips. “Have a good evening,” I tell her as I turn and walk out the door.
My long legs eat up the carpet as I make my way back to the banquet hall.
Back to Cricket.
Chapter Eleven
Cricket
Where the hell is he?
I head for the bar, anxious to get away from our table. Away from Danny.
The moment Rueben excused himself to the restroom, I noticed Ellen’s eyes follow him as he exited the room. When she turned and saw me staring, she only smiled that conniving, vindictive grin that let me know she was up to something. Before I could get up and follow him, she left, heading off to use the restroom.
Everything inside me wanted to follow her. I knew where she was going. But a bigger part of me realized I trust him. Even if our relationship is totally fake, Rueben would never do anything to hurt me, and that includes getting it on with Ellen in the supply closet. So that’s why I stayed in my seat and listened to the chairperson of the alumni foundation speak on raising more money.