“It was pretty great. Mark took me to a winery.” Her words don’t match her deadpan expression. Lana drops her hand from his, then puts her small bag on the chair. “Mark, this is Sora, my best friend I told you about.”
He takes a step forward, his hand clammy as he takes mine. “Nice to meet you, Sora.” His smile is off-putting. Unsettling. But who am I to judge? He may be a nice guy and I’m just paranoid.
I force a smile in return. “You’re a very lucky man. Lana is incredible.” That backhanded threat is probably unnecessary.
“Don’t I know it.” He leans down, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Lana barks out a laugh. “Do I smell cookies? If you made chocolate chip, I’ll orgasm right here.”
I snort, finding Mark staring at me again. “They’re all for you,” I tell her, casting Mark a fuck off and I’ll kill you if you hurt my friend type of look.
“You’re the best. I missed your desserts. I can’t bake to save my life.” Lana finishes by licking the left-over chocolate off her fingers. “Mmm. So good.”
Mark eyes Lana with a heated gaze as she makes eating a chocolate chip cookie identify as a porno. He comes off like a horny teenager, if I’m being honest. But I am her best friend, and I need to give him the benefit of the doubt.
For now.
“How was your first night here? Everything go okay?” She chugs a bottle of water as Mark invades her space and the subtle sidestep doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Let’s see… Logan paid for my groceries while customers at the supermarket were aiming pitch forks at me. And Fred made a not so friendly visit.”
“Logan paid for your groceries. What about the money I gave you? And I miss Fred. He hasn’t been around for the last couple of days. Probably because I’ve been laying off the sweets. My students say I’m too hyper.”
“I’ll save the Logan story for another time. But yes, poor Fred was close to seeing the light per my butter knife.”
“No! He’s so fluffy and cute.”
“Who’s Logan?” Mark’s posture stiffens. “And who’s Fred?”
Lana throws him an empathic bone. “Fred is our raccoon, and Logan lives next door.” She’s about to continue, but he interrupts.
“You never told me your neighbor is a dude.” His body language, once playful, turns tense. Both me and Lana stare at him.
Her boyfriend of two minutes appeared as a pick me guy and I’m not a fan.
“He’s just our neighbor. Lives in the other half of the duplex,” I cut in, crossing my arms over my chest.
Mark forces himself to relax while rubbing Lana’s shoulder. “Oh, okay, babe.”
Babe?That better not be for me.
After the conversation dies, I leave them, ditching my sportswear for something more professional with heels to match. I bought a mix of options just in case.
Lana’s vintage coatrack holds my small purse, and I grab it on the way out. “I’ll see you later, Lana. I’m going job hunting today.”
Mark sits watching TV, his hands interlocked behind his head, Lana snagging a glass of milk. Couldn’t be more uninterested if she tried.
Her face drops. “I was hoping you’d grab lunch with us, but I get it. Knock em dead.”
“Sorry. Another time.” I pull Lana into a hug, catching Mark staring at my ass on the way out. “It wassonice to meet you, Mark.” Bitterness runs off my tongue as I fight like hell not to roll my eyes.
It’s official, I’m swearing off men. There are too many continuous unappealing aspects about them. But I’d make damn sure to have a talk with Lana if Mark doesn’t get his shit together. If he’s that way with me, I can only imagine what he is doing behind her back.
Having exhausted all possibilities, my feet are killing me. I never walked this much in heels. Sure, I’ve attended formal dinner parties, forced to have lunch with women I had nothing in common with, but walking around town developing blisters isn’t what I’m used to. Hell, I’ve never even driven anywhere myself. It was part of the rich lifestyle, but I knew it was only to keep me isolated between club shifts.
The fresh memory sends a disturbing chill down my spine. Am I really doing this? Running away and starting over. I must be delusional if I believe it to be that simple. Jason will look for me if he hasn’t already. First sign of trouble, I’m out. Lana doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of it all.
Application after application. One of them has to want me. With no qualifications, it seems impossible.
