The Truth

“Tiffany, is there a stall in there?” He waits for me to mumble an answer. “If so, go in there, but don’t sit down.”

“Don’t sit—” I shake my head as I repeat his words.

“So you don’t pass out,” he explains. “Just breathe. I’m still at the office, but I’ll be there in ten minutes. I’m already on my way. Can you do that for me? Ten minutes, Tiffany.”

“Yeah,” I reply, tearing up again. “Mr. Stryker, you—”

“I know. Ten minutes.”

Daniel hangs up, and I stare at my phone. He said, ‘I know’, but he doesn’t know, I don’t think. Oh, I joked about it with Elle plenty when we were both single, but she never told her father what I really think about him, what I’d truly like to have with him, and do to him, and have him do to me.

No. Pull it together, Tiffany. You are not that sorority girl at every party who gets shitfaced and ends up crying in the bathroom as everyone bangs on the door. You are not going out like this. You’re not.

The pep talk works enough to rally me back to the sink, where I splash my face again before retreating into the stall, locking it. And then I wait.

A minute later, a couple sneaks in, thumping up against the stall wall as they giggle in the middle of making out. “I’ve never done this before.”

“I haven’t, either . . . but I want to with you.”

A few moments later, I get to listen to exactly what they haven’t done before, which just makes my misery worse. Seriously, hearing a woman say she wants her lover’s tongue there is not how you should spend your drunken ugly cry times.

That and the thought of what germs might be around in a bar room bathroom makes me gag. I want to tell them both that maybe there’s a reason they haven’t done this before.

Then the woman says, “I have to get home early tonight. I told Levi I’d be home to put the kids to bed.”

“Yeah, Maria thinks I’m having a quick drink with the guys.”

Even through the fuzziness of my brain, that registers. These two assholes are not only fucking in a bar bathroom, but they’re also having an affair while their spouses think they’re doing afterwork drinks with the team.

Fucking gross.

Unfortunately, their admission seems to be permission to really go at it, and moments later, I’m hearing someone’s body thumping against the stall wall, combined with wet schlucking sounds.

How do they switch from talking about spouses to that in one breath? I need to get out of here.

Desperately taking deep breaths, I go back to the bar.

The bartender nods and sets my drink back on the bar, adding a fresh glass of water with lime. It was nice of him to protect it for me while I was gone, but I push it away, disgusted by it’s sugariness and angry at the way the alcohol is making me feel.

Todd-Ted comes back, obviously thinking a second attempt at conversation would be more effective than the first. “Hey, gorgeous, I was worried you got lost in there.”

I try to ignore him, and he pushes my hair behind my ear. I pull away angrily, losing my precarious balance on the barstool. “The fuck?”

The guy reaches out reflexively to catch me but freezes, looking over my shoulder.

A stern voice growls, “I thought I told you to wait in the bathroom until I got here.”

I look back, and to my relief, I see it’s Daniel. I can’t help the way my eyes eat him up, sliding down his body and then back up to his face. He’s dressed casually in designer jeans and a black sweater, a five o’clock shadow making his jaw sharper than usual, and his eyes are flaring with threat at the guy who’d dared to touch me.

“Sorry,” I declare as best I can. “There was sex in there.”

Daniel’s stony eyes turn to me. “What?”

“The cheaters cheating, having sex in the next stall.” I shake my head in disgust.

Daniel’s face softens just a little, and he nods. It’s a reassuring one, and suddenly, I feel like everything’s going to be okay. “All right then. Come on, let’s get you home.”

He reaches out, and I half fall into his arms, smiling as he catches me with strong hands. “You really came for me.”

“I told you I would.”

“You’re the best, Daniel,” I tell him before letting myself drift away. All I care about are the strong, warm, safe arms around me and the reassuring voice in my ear.

Maybe those drinks were worth it.

Chapter 3

Daniel

I was surprised when Tiffany called me, but I’m glad she did. The guy I found hitting on her is looking at her like she’s a piece of meat, a conquest that he figures he can get away with since she’s clearly drunk.