"Really," he said. "But when all this is over, there's somethingyou'vegot to do."
"What?" I asked.
His voice was almost a whisper. "Leave."
I did a double-take. "What?"
His muscles tightened, and when he spoke again, it was like the words were wrenched from his gut. "I said…" He visibly swallowed. "You've got to leave."
Dumbstruck, I stared up at him. "What exactly are you saying?"
He pulled his gaze from mine and looked out toward the panoramic skyline. "It's all fucked up," he said. "My life. Me." He blew out a ragged breath. "And you see how things end up with the girls I—" He stopped short, as if unwilling to continue.
Sudden anger made me blunt. "With the girls you 'fuck'?" I stood. "Is that what you were gonna say?"
"No." he said. "Not with you."
I crossed my arms. "Really? But isn't that all just semantics?"
"No. Because you're not like them." His voice hardened. "And I don't want you to be."
Somehow, it felt almost like an insult. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean," he said, "I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to hate me." His voice grew quieter. "And more than anything, I don't want to hurt you."
Well, that was rich. "Then why are you saying all this?"
"Because it needs to be said."
I stared at him. "First you offer me a job, then you give me this pretty little speech, and then you tell me to leave? That issomessed up."
"I know," he said. "But it wasn't a speech. It was the truth. And about the job? It's still yours if you want it."
The arrangement sounded all-too familiar. I made an ugly sound. "Oh, soIcan be the new Bianca? The psycho ex, still on the payroll?"
"She's not my ex," he said. "We had a couple nights of fun. No big deal."
Somehow, that didn't make me feel any better. A couple nights of fun. That sounded familiar too. A scoffing sound escaped my lips. "You're insane. You know that, don't you?"
"Hell yes, I know that. You think Iwantyou to leave?"
"Yeah. Actually I do." My voice rose. "Because you just told me to." I took a long, steadying breath. "You know what? Forget it. I'm sorry."
"Why areyousorry?" he asked.
"Because," I said, "it's not like I expected to stay. I don't even know why I'm arguing about it."
I glanced at the nearby suitcases. Well, at least I was already packed. That was good, right?
Jake said something too quiet for me to make out.
I turned toward him. "What?"
His eyes were haunted. "I never meant to sleep with you."
God, how humiliating. "Oh. That's nice."
"No. It's not. None of this is nice."
