Sin City Baby

Her face fell for a second, and she stared off in the distance, a lost, haunted look in her eyes. We sat there in silence for a moment before she looked over at me and asked a question I figured was going to come up at some point.

“Gabe still hates me, doesn't he?”

I sighed and took another drink. “Gabe could never hate you, Hadley,” I said. “You know him. He's just difficult sometimes. Stubborn as hell. And he's a hell of a lot more sensitive than he'd like to let on. You hurt him and even now, all these years later, he's still hurting.”

“I hurt him?” she exclaimed, sitting up in the chair. “Has he forgotten about little miss Harvard beauty queen? What was her name again?”

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I shrugged. “Gabe never mentioned anyone else.”

“He didn't?” She raised her eyebrows and then rolled her eyes, blowing out a snort of derision. “Of course he didn't. He wouldn't have told you all about the girl he cheated on me with because that would have made him look bad and he wouldn't have been able to play the fucking victim all these years.”

That caught my attention, and this time, it was my time to sit up straight. I looked at her, my eyes boring into hers.

“Gabe cheated on you?” I asked. “With who?”

Hadley seemed lost in thought, trying to remember a name. Finally, with wide eyes, she snapped her fingers and spoke.

“It started with a J-- Jennifer? No, that's not it–”

“Jessica?” I finished for her and very nearly spat out my beer.

“Yes, that's it. Jessica St. Peters,” she said, shaking her head. “Not sure how I ever forgot that name – it sounds snooty and pretentious as hell. But, that's the girl. Guess I finally got over it after all.”

Jessica was Gabe's ex, and as far as I knew, she'd been a rebound after he and Hadley had their little blowout. Hearing Hadley mention her name though, took me by surprise. She saw something in my eyes as I averted my gaze. It was too late though. Like a hawk snaring its prey, Hadley seized on my expression and pressed me on it.

“What is it, Evan?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I said. “I'm just surprised Gabe would have cheated on you, that's all. He was madly in love with you. I can't believe that he actually – ”

“Well, he did,” she said, sitting back in the chair glumly.

She leaned back and continued studying my face as I fought to not give anything away. It didn't work.

“What aren't you telling me?” she asked.

I sighed. I had never been a very good liar, but this was also none of my business either. I had enough of my own shit to deal with. The last thing I wanted or needed was to get

“You really just need to talk to Gabe,” I said, holding my hands up in the air. “That's all I'm saying. Talk to him. I bet this is all a misunderstanding.”

“Nah, it's not a misunderstanding. Jessica sent me a message, on Facebook, and told me everything. Even sent me texts he'd sent her,” Hadley said.

Her voice was soft, and she looked away from me. For a second, I thought she might start to cry. Which would have been incredibly awkward.

“Do you happen to still have those messages?” I asked.

She took a long pull from her beer and shrugged. “Maybe? I don't know. I don't use Facebook much anymore, but I'm terrible at deleting shit. They could still be there.”

“Mind if I take a look at them sometime?”

“If I have them still, sure,” she said as her gaze narrowed in on me. “I still think there's something you're not telling me, Evan.”

“Nothing worth talking about, that's for sure,” I said. “The past is the past.”

“You can say that again,” she sighed.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. I stared at her for a long time, mesmerized by her beauty. Her pale skin was milky white, and even with a sweatshirt, you could make out the curves of her body. She'd filled out a bit. Okay, she'd filled out a lot – and was incredibly appealing.

A tightness in my jeans caused me to adjust my position, shifting slightly so she wouldn't notice the bulge in my pants. The chair creaked as I moved, and Hadley opened her eyes and looked at me. A rueful grin spread across her beautiful face, and at first, I feared she might have noticed my erection.