But when had it happened? Someone couldn't just go from in love, to out of love that quickly, could they?
We'd only been married for two years. It felt like the ink on our certificate was still drying to me. Yet, she seemed to be halfway out the door.
At the same time, confusingly, she didn’t want to deal with a fight, or a breakup.
“Kamran! The Uber's here!”
Swallowing, I shook myself and tried to do what she suggested. Maybe she was right. I needed to keep my chin up and act like nothing was wrong for Dave's sake. It would be pretty shitty to show up to his birthday party as a wet blanket.
Still, once I was sitting next to her in the back of the car, our gazes met, and I felt so conflicted I didn't even know how to act.
She couldn't expect it to just go on like this, could she? If she didn't know that I knew, did she just want to stay with me while stringing her boss along at the same time?
Looking into her eyes, I just couldn't reconcile this version of her with the Melissa that I knew.
She wasn't like this.
Case in point, she reached across the seats and grabbed my arm, squeezing it.
“We'll talk later,” she promised quietly. “Everything will be okay. Don't worry.”
I wished Icouldstop worrying, but at this time, there was nothing else todo, even with her reassurance.
“Okay, Lissa,” I said, simply.
I would just have to try to shake this off and be myself for the evening.
Everything will be okay, I told myself, repeating her empty promise.
FOUR
Ryan
We were having dinner and drinks at Dave's place to celebrate his birthday. His girlfriend Deb was a baker and had made an assortment of canapés and puff pastries that were way too fancy for the likes ofus.They were being devoured along with plenty of beer.
The foosball table had been in full swing for over an hour now. Dave and Kamran were playing and Kamran was getting inexplicably angry every time he lost. He shouldn't have been so surprised. Dave always won.He was the most competitive person in the world and I'd yet to see him lose a game ofanything.
But every time he scored a goal, Kamran cursed, gritted his teeth and tried harder. It could have been played off as friendly competition, but it wasn't. Even if the others didn’t see it, I knew he was worked up all the way to full blown anger. I could tell by the tense line of his shoulders, the muscle ticking in his jaw, the fire in his incredible eyes.
Melissa was sitting at the island, chatting with Deb, looking happy as a clam, giggling more and more as the wine kicked in. It was weird to look at her and remember what Kamran had said. Knowing that she was going behind his back with someone else… it took a special sort of person to start a full-on affair with someone and I’d never thought Melissa, of all people, was that type.
Ollie was sitting next to me, rambling on about the supremacy of Star Trek over Star Wars and the impact that it had on our daily existence—because this was what he thought everyone should hear about almost every time he got drunk or had a joint.
He took a long puff and then began his usual spiel about e-readers.
Having heard it one too many times, I nodded at all the appropriate moments while my mind was a million miles away. My gaze constantly sought Kamran out.
It was unavoidable, really. I didn't know how everyone didn't constantly look at him. With clear skin and a mess of shiny loose curls that somehow always hung in an artful mess around his face, those eyes that were the most remarkable shade of green I had ever seen in person, like sea foam, surrounded by thick dark lashes that would have made him look feminine if not for the square jaw and dark stubble. As far as I was concerned, the man was a work of art.
It was crazy that he was here, living a normal life in a small city in BC instead of living it up in Hollywood, or something. God knew he was attractive enough for it.
But he seemed to think he was your average working class guy—the type who’d played football in college and now had a pickup truck and a house with his wife. His childhood home and parents were only a thirty minute drive away and his mom, whomade the best middle-eastern food I’d ever tried, not to mention an apple pie that outdid any other. Seriously. Debwished.
Just then, Dave scored a goal and Kamran hit his handles in frustration, making all of his little players spin.
“For fuck's sake!” he shouted, finally letting the brewing anger free.
That drew everyone’s attention but he didn’t acknowledge anyone. Instead, he just marched away, flopping onto the armchair opposite to me and Ollie.
