21
The following morning, Cora sat at her desk at work, staring at the empty seat where Liam should’ve been. Her insides churned with resentment and a driving need to know what the hell had really happened with him on Saturday night. As bad as everything looked, she still wanted to believe him, but maybe that was her problem. Since the moment he’d come into her life, her feelings were in a tailspin. His very presence seemed to turn her world on its head because he was familiar to her in a way that didn’t make sense. She often had strange moments of déjà vu whenever he was around. Then there were the vivid dreams about him that made no sense. Last night, she’d woken up in a cold sweat, out of breath, with her heart thumping madly. In her dream she’d been fleeing with Liam on horseback through a forest, and she’d been wearing an old-fashioned, long, flowy gown from a different era. It felt like something out of a medieval fairy tale. Later, after her heart had slowed and the dream faded, she’d chalked it up to a side effect of binge-watching too many Game of Thrones episodes. But even now, she could still smell the wet leaves and damp earth from that dream. She could still taste the heady rush of adrenaline and fear and longing that coursed through her veins. It had felt so real.
Cora scrubbed her face with both hands and went to the office kitchen for more coffee. Her phone rang, and she half expected it to be Liam. He’d been avoiding her ever since he got sent home yesterday. She checked her phone screen and answered. “Hey, Suze.”
“I think my brain short-circuited last night,” Suzette said. She always started phone conversations in the middle, as if they’d been talking for hours. “Or maybe I have a tumor, or some kind of weird virus that amps up the brain’s Idiotic Impulse functions, or something.”
“Sounds chronic.”
“I’m not kidding, Cora. This is bad. I kissed Rob Hopper last night.”
“Wow.” Cora poured office sludge into her mug. “What happened to ‘not in a bajillion years’?”
“I don’t know!” Suzette wailed. “Time flies, I guess. And it wasn’t a polite peck on the cheek, either. It was one of those sinful, dirty kisses, you know? The kind that taste like poor decisions followed by a walk of shame?”
Cora opened her mouth to reply, but Suzette was on a roll.
“He told me he wasn’t seeing anyone else, and we got to talking about life and stuff. Then I let him take me to dinner, and then when he brought me home, he coiled those muscular arms around me like a wily snake and swooped in for the kill. And I fell for it!” She made a sound of disgust. “I almost invited him inside because, apparently, he’d sucked all the brain cells out of my head, but then he got a text message on his phone. I saw it before he could hide it. It said, ‘C U tonight’ and it was from someone named Trixie.” Suzette’s voice began to rise. “Come on, Trixie? If that doesn’t have ‘stripper pole’ written all over it, I don’t know what does.”
“Maybe it’s just an unfortunate nickname,” Cora offered. “Maybe she’s just a friend.”
“Her text message came with a bunch of hearts.”
“Well, that doesn’t—”
“Followed by a peach and eggplant emoji,” Suzette said flatly.
“Oh. Um... Maybe she just really loves fruits and vegetables?” Cora could practically hear Suzette roll her eyes.
“I knew going to dinner with him was a bad idea,” Suzette said with a groan. “And kissing him was an even worse idea. He’s probably chuckling right now, thinking he has me on the hook like all his other booty-call girls. I can’t believe I almost gave in to Rob Hopper. I’ve been bamboozled.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Right? He’s such an assho—”
“No, I mean, ‘bamboozled.’ Who says that word? But more importantly, Rob’s not on duty today, but when he comes in tomorrow, I can interrogate him. You want me to cuff him to a chair, stick him under bright lights, the whole nine yards?”
“No, don’t say anything,” Suzette said quickly. “I don’t want him to think it bothered me, because then he’ll just think I care. Which, I don’t.” There was a long pause. “I don’t care.”
“Right.”
“Right,” Suzette echoed. “So, I’m just going to pretend the date never happened. But feel free to spill some hot coffee in Rob’s lap the next time you see him. Or, trip him when he walks by. You decide.”
“I’ll shoot for both.”
“See, that’s what I love about you. You’re always willing to go the extra mile.”
“I’m sorry about your crap date, Suze,” Cora said gently.
Her friend gave a heavy sigh. “It just sucks because during dinner, I felt like we really connected, you know? Like, for once, Rob was just being himself and not the teasing playboy he usually is. But at least I didn’t sleep with him. It could’ve been so much worse. I just need to forget it and focus on better things.”
“Agreed.”
“So, how’s that hot roommate of yours?”
Cora groaned. “Don’t ask.”
“Did he do his laundry in the kitchen sink again? Whatever he did, it can’t be that bad.”