“I think I’m just tired and need a break.”
“Are you sure that’s all it is?”
I glance up just as our coffees arrive. “Well, it’s just what you were saying before,” I say.
Her brows furrow. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’m bugging you about Jay, aren’t I?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
I blow out a long breath, wondering how I’ve been able to keep it from her for this long. “It’s about the threesome.”
She looks even more confused as her brows knit together and she stares at me intently. “I was joking about a Jay Jefferson and Jake Hudson sandwich, I swear.”
I’d laugh my ass off at that usually, if what I was about to say wasn’t so serious. “Not that either. It’s Aaron… I haven’t told you the whole saga.”
Her eyes bug wide as I play with the foam on my cappuccino with my teaspoon, finally drawing it up to my mouth and letting it dissolve. “I knew you weren’t telling me everything.”
“There’s a reason for that,” I say, as a sense of dread washes over me, pulling at my stomach. But as much as I feel uneasy, I need to let this out.
“What else did that lying, cheating asshole do?”
I put my spoon down and clasp my hands together again, hoping that if I say it fast, I can then run and hide somewhere and let the hurt and confusion wash right over me.
“He cheated on me with a couple,” I say flatly.
She gasps, her rounded eyes almost as big as her frames, or so it seems. “What?”
“Yeah, a guy and girl were involved, experimenting or some shit. Apparently that’s not cheating…. Oh, and the best part, he asked if I wanted to have a threesome with the girl!”
“Oh, dear god.”
“Yeah, I used language a little more foul than that.”
She reaches across the table for my hand. “Jade, I’m so sorry.”
I press my lips together, trying to fight back the tears. “I think it was all a guise in the end, ‘let’s have a threesome’ so I wouldn’t blurt out what he’d done in case it ruined his precious career.” He is definitely up and coming with some pro teams on his tail.
“What an asshole.”
“I mean, if he wanted to play the field and experiment, he should have said so. There’s no excuse for cheating under any circumstance.”
“Totally. I’m so sorry that happened to you, Babe. He really isn’t worth your tears.”
She squeezes my hand as I take a few deep breaths and try to center myself again, it’s easier said than done when I’m recalling it all. “Who does he think he is, though?” I shake my head. “He said he didn’t sleep with the guy, he just fooled around with the girl, like that’s still okay!”
“Urgh! What kind of an excuse is that?”
“I know. And since then, it’s just made me feel so awkward and weird.”
“I can understand that. I’m sorry for making a wisecrack about threesomes, if I’d known…”
“It’s okay.” I squeeze her hand right back. “You didn’t know. And I’m glad I got it off my chest, so maybe it was good you brought it up.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
My shrug laces with a deep breath. “I was embarrassed. And it rocked my confidence. I mean, what the hell! I didn’t know he was into dudes as well, despite what he said.”
