Me: How?
Victory: You’re insinuating I slept with you to maintain some relationship!
Me: No. I was insinuating you can’t have a cordial business relationship after I fucked you and saw you come.
Victory: OMG, I’m going.
Me: Give me your number.
Victory: No and don’t you dare ask Brey. She already feels like shit after you hacked her email.
Me: You know I couldn’t care less. I will ask her if you don’t give it to me.
Victory: The number’s in your email … You’re really starting to make it hard to see the good in someone when you’re such a terrible human being.
I closedthe chat and called her.
“Are you serious?” she practically shouted in the phone. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Well, you picked up your phone.”
I heard rustling and a sigh. “Yes, because I happen to think you’ll interrogate Brey if I don’t answer.”
“And you’re right.”
“What do you want, Jett?”
“Why didn’t you tell me your name is Victory?”
“Because it’s a common mistake everyone makes when they meet me. There’s no need to make someone uncomfortable by correcting them.”
“I’m not ‘everyone’ or just ‘someone.’ I slept with you and spent nearly a week with you on an island.”
“And that was a great time. Now the week is over. So, we should probably stop bringing it up.”
“Why?” I asked, not really sure I even wanted the answer.
“Why?” she repeated, her voice shrill. “Because, as you made abundantly clear, it was just a vacation fling and we’re back to reality now. Like you said.”
“You didn’t seem to think it was just a fling at first.”
“But you reminded me it was, and I’m very happy about that.”
I chuckled at her emphasis. She riled so easily and it made me want to rile her more. This girl, so wrapped up in the whimsical little land she’d created for herself, had no idea how bad life could get. Some part of me wanted to show her, to see her light dim a little and then have her explode under me in my bed.
I realized right then that I wasn’t done with her and I wanted our fling to last longer.
“Why are you happy about that?”
“Because you and I are oil and vinegar. We don’t mix well at all.”
“Maybe we do. Have dinner with me here.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not a booty call …” she hesitated. “At least I’m not anymore now that we aren’t on vacation.”