Page 71 of Sizzle
I don’t even look at the label.
“Looks like wine to me, which means yes,” I tell her, raising my empty glass in a toast.
Because really, what’s a girl supposed to do when her lovers bail on her? Get drunk with a girlfriend, that’s what.
Connie maybe doesn’t exactly count as a girlfriend, but she’s the closest thing I’ve got. And right now, sitting in her toasty warm apartment on the world’s softest microfiber couch with a big fat handcrafted comforter wrapped around me—right now’s a pretty nice place to be.
The bottle of wine we just killed might have something to do with that, but to hell with it. Tonight, I’ll take all the comfort I can get.
“So is one bottle enough to get you to tell me what happened with the boss man, or should I wait ‘til this one’s gone too?” she says, pouring us each a fresh glass.
I take a slow drink.
“If you’ve already heard about it, then you know what happened,” I say, sullen.
“Honey, I heard restaurant gossip. That’s about as far from facts as watching cable news the day before an election.” Connie snorts, amused at herself. “For all I know, Elliot could have been kissing the beer guy. Although, that’s kind of hot, now that I think about it.”
“It wasn’t the beer guy,” I say. If Elliot’s going to be kissing any guys, it better be Alex. And ho, boy, I am not ready to have that conversation with anybody else. Plus, Elliot made it pretty clear he’s got a ways to go before he’s ready to even talk about that, let alone get to the kissing part.
Connie’s right, though. The idea of them kissing? It’s hot. Hotter-than-lava hot.
And since I’m sleeping on my friend’s couch tonight and not with either of my boneheaded lovers, I’ve got no business getting this turned on, so I take another sip and force my brain back into the confines of reality.
“He was kissing me,” I confess. “Had been kissing me, anyway.”
“Are you seeing each other?”
“It’s complicated,” I hedge.
Connie laughs. “Isn’t it always?”
I almost spit out my drink. “Um… not usually this complicated.” She narrows her eyes at me.
“Spill it, girlie.”
The stress, the joy, the anger, the anxiety, the overwhelming disappointment—right now it’s too much to keep inside myself. So I tell her the truth.
“I’m seeing him.” Connie starts to cheer and I shake my head. “I’m seeing Elliot. And Alex.”
“Hell yes. Good for you, girlie!” She slaps me on the shoulder.
“Um, I mean, I’m seeing them both. At the same time.”
“You’re my hero, and don’t ever let anybody tell you otherwise.”
I huff at my bangs, frustrated. Why is this so hard to explain?
“I mean, we’re seeing each other. At the same time.” I hate that I can’t tell Connie all of it, but if Alex and Elliot are seeing each other too, that’s not my secret to share. I hope they are, because who am I kidding? The thought alone is hotter than the tallest flames in hell. But I don’t know what’s between them, if anything.
And that’s a whole new mountain of worry I hadn’t considered before today. What if deep down they’re only into each other, and don’t need me anymore?
I shove that thought into a box in the back of my mind. I might need to vent a little to my friend over some wine tonight, but that’s a question I can’t handle. Not tonight. Besides, I’m still furious with them both.
“Are we talking about threesomes?” Connie asks, setting her glass down to look at me. For a minute, I think she’s about to launch into a lecture, but then she actually begs. “Please tell me we’re talking about threesomes.”
I start laughing and it’s a long time before I can pull myself together enough to stop.
“I’m serious. Girl, you better not be yanking my chain on this.” She smacks my shoulder again. “Joelle!”