“So, are you going to finally tell me what happened with Jason?”
“We broke it off. I’m fine, really,” I lie, convincingly.
“We so need to get you drunk and in someone’s bed, pronto.”
“Wait, Vicky, that’s awful. I’m not like that. Plus, I’d never do that to Jason.”
“How do you know he hasn’t done it already? Where did he stay last night?” she is quick to interrogate.
“At a friend’s house. And besides, Jason isn’t like that.”
The thought of Jason being with another woman pulls on the jealous strings I thought laid dormant. I am not that type of girl, and I strongly believe Jason wouldn’t so heartlessly jump into the next bed that came along. He is a better man than that.
“Pres, look… I’m not trying to be insensitive. Jason is a guy. Just don’t be surprised if he has moved on,” she says, this time in a softer tone.
I’m not a big crier, and the thought of crying at work is embarrassing. I can control my emotions, even if Vicky is staring at me like I’m an orphaned child with no shoes on my feet.
“We only broke up last week. His stuff is still in our apartment,” I croak.
“Yeah, well, trust me, they only need a minute of being released from the ball and chain.”
“I’m not a ball and chain.”
“Well, you’re not exactly a spontaneous let’s-push-everything-off-the-table-and-fuck-like-wild- animals kinda gal either now, are you?”
She has a point, and I can’t imagine anything worse. What a mess that would make. And my pens? No, don’t go there.
I move my mouse to start up my computer when I notice some excess tea on my desk. Letting out a huff, I grab another tissue to wipe it down. This day needs to be over so I can crawl into bed an
d forget the world exists. Vicky raises her eyebrow at me, and I unbutton the blazer that I had placed back on, revealing the stained blouse.
Unable to control herself, she laughs out loud, resting her hand on my shoulder with a sympathetic look.
“On the bus ride over here?”
“Nope, just an asshole who’s now trying to get into Dee’s pants.”
“Haden? How can someone so hot be such a royal pain in the ass?”
“Hot? I can’t see past the arrogance and petulant behavior. He’s like a goddam box of mixed chocolates… you don’t know what you’re going to get next.”
“Dee told me he wanted a threesome on Saturday night. Tried to get with her and her sister.”
“Are you joking? How inappropriate.”
“Yeah, maybe, but Dee sure looks happy today.”
Just when I thought my opinion of him couldn’t get any lower, I am proven wrong.
Vicky’s phone vibrates on my desk, and immediately she picks it up with an amused smile and shoves it in my face.
“What am I looking at?”
She points to the message from Jean-Phillipe—it’s hot, heavy, and wow, can this man talk dirty!
“What’s with all the hashtags?” I ask.
“Oh, it’s this thing we do. You know, rather than typing sentences together, we just hashtag a word or a string of words which kind of means the same thing.”