"He hates Blaine. He held back his criticism, but I could always tell he disapproved of him."
"Men, right?" Marina shovels some popcorn into her mouth. "Can’t live with them. Can't live without them."
"You do," I say and sit back, wondering what Jon will say about Blaine being back in town and that he wanted to see me.
I'm horrified that Jon will be in Washington thinking of me being alone with Blaine. That's the last thing I want. I don't want Jon to even imagine I'm interested in Blaine. For a while after Blaine left, I was sad that things didn’t work out. Jon used to give me pep talks –most of them about how I was better off without Blaine and that he was a first-class jerk who didn’t realize what a gem he’d had in me.
I set my alarm on my cell for nine forty-five so I can remember to call Jon and let him know that I'm not alone. We'll have to put off doing a Facetime sex session until another night. I hope he's not too upset. I know he's looking forward to it.
Marina and I watch a movie on Netflix and I almost forget about the time. Luckily, my cell chimes to notify me of an upcoming event and so I excuse myself and go to the bathroom. I have to be careful not to alert Marina that I'm texting Jon.
I hate the deception. One of these days, when I feel more secure about Jon and my relationship, I will tell her. But right now?
I'm trying to avoid confrontation.
I slip to the bathroom and take my cell with me, having tucked it into my hoodie pocket. Once I'm alone with the door closed, I take out my cell and open Facetime.
Jon comes on the screen. I can see his hotel room in the background – the typical art above his bed, the headboard and the row of throw pillows. He's sitting on the end and smiles when he sees me.
"There you are," he says. His expression is unreadable. Not happy, but not angry.
"I can't talk now," I say in a half-whisper. "Marina's over."
"Hmm…" he says, and raises his eyebrows. "Marina?"
"Yeah. She invited herself over and brought popcorn and Twizzlers. I guess she felt bad about me being all alone on a Saturday night."
"She texted me something about Blaine being in town. What's up?"
I shrug. "Nothing. He's in town to open an office in San Francisco. He popped by earlier. He left and now Marina's here."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Look, I'm sorry about this but I better go. Marina will wonder what's taking me so long."
Jon frowns. "Are you sure everything's okay? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?"
I shake my head. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, you did ask Chris about cashing in your shares, and Blaine is back so..."
"No," I reply, trying not to raise my voice. "It's just I don't want a confrontation with Marina to top off a rather bad day overall."
"Okay. I'll hit the sack earlier than I planned. Maybe we can do some Facetime fun tomorrow night." Then his eyes brighten. "Send me a pic of your tits and pussy. I'll choke the chicken while looking at you."
"Jon!"
"Do it now. While I watch. Show me your stuff, babe."
I take in a deep breath and then lift my pajama top and show him my breasts. I hear a soft groan and I close my eyes, embarrassed to be doing this.
"Now your pussy," he says and I can hear the desire in his voice.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," I mutter and stand up, pulling down my pajama bottoms and holding the cell low enough so he can see.
"Spread yourself for me," comes his voice.
"Jon!"