She laughed but it was forced. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” she said. “Are you sure you’re okay? Is Sin okay?”
I smiled. “We’re both going to be.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sin Montero
Night had fallen.
Two hours ago.
I stared at the door, sitting all alone on my couch, waiting. Behind me, dinner was set on the table, now ice-cold. I’d cooked chicken and rice, one of my favorites, and it had turned out better than any other time I’d made it. Guess it wasn’t meant for me to actually eat it.
I wanted to get up—do something—not just sit there, but I felt paralyzed. I had a dress on, for God’s sake. And red underwear—the sexy kind that Malin and Jamie had insisted were perfect for the occasion. I’d done my hair, straightened it and let it loose, and I’d put makeup on, too, because I didn’t want the bruises of the fight from last night to show on my face. All for my big date with Damian Reed.
And he hadn’t even bothered to show up.
God, I felt like a fool. Why did I keep doing this to myself?
Another fifteen minutes passed before I managed to get out of the trance and go searching for my phone. No missed calls. I went back to the couch and called his number. My heart was threatening to leap out of my chest, which hurt like I was being spelled repeatedly. Maybe I was having a heart attack?
No answer.
Maybe something was wrong. Maybe he was in trouble. Maybe he hadn’t had the time to call.
Shit. Now the guilt suffocated me. Why hadn’t I called earlier?
My fingers shook slightly as I searched for Moira’s number. If anyone knew where Damian was, it would be her.
And thank the heavens, she picked up the phone.
“Is he okay?” I asked when she answered, my voice dry as a desert.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” Moira said in a whisper.
“Are you sure?” Because he had ended up in a different world at one point just a few weeks ago.
“Yes, I am. He’s okay.”
“Is he there?” I needed to talk to him because I wanted to believe that there was a reason why he’d stood me up. A perfectly reasonable reason that would make very good sense.
“Yeah,” Moira said, dragging the word out as if she was trying to stall. I waited. “He’s, um…he’s busy.”
Busy. My eyes squeezed shut.
Of course he was busy. I was busy, too—making a fool out of myself. My fingers were sweating from how tightly I was holding the phone to my ear.
“Sin?” Moira said, and I realized she was still there.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry.”
I hung up the phone.
The first thing I did was throw away the food. I wasn’t really hungry—not for chicken and rice. In fact, I doubted I’d be eating chicken and rice again for some time. We’d see.
The second thing was to take off the stupid dress I’d worn. It was black and tight around the torso, then flared out from my waist down to my thighs. It was nice. I hated it with a passion.
And the third—the most dangerous thing I’d done since the night before—I went to Kit’s box and grabbed a handful of chocolates. Wherever he was when he left at night, he was going to be pissed when he came home and saw what I’d done. Nobody messed with Kit’s chocolates.
I guess now I did.
I sat on the couch in my red underwear and stuffed my mouth full of chocolate. I ate until I felt nauseous, then stared at the ceiling until sleep took me. Not for a second could I stop myself from thinking about Damian Reed, but that night, I decided one thing: whatever his reasons for this were, it was the last time I was going to allow him to play me for a fool. I was done.
—THE END
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Sincerely,
Dori Hoxa
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