Page 42 of The Arrangement
“What are you doing here?” we asked at the same time.
“I’m sorry, what are you doing here?” I repeated.
“I live here. What are you doing here?” she asked.
Before I could piece together what was happening, Mallory descended the stairs and appeared behind her, wearing lounge pants and a floral tank top. As soon as she saw me, a bright smile lit up her face.
“Hey you,” she called. “What are you doing here?”
Gina spun around, staring at Mallory and jutting her thumb in my direction. “You know him?”
“Of course, I know him. Why else would he be here? Let him in, would you?” Mallory’s smile faded. “Wait a second, you know him?”
“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” I asked, coming across angrier than I’d meant to. At that point, it felt like the universe was playing one giant prank on me.
“Pete’s my date,” Mallory said. “From the other night.”
Gina looked back at me, her brows raised. “Oh, he is, is he?”
“How do you know him?” Mallory was looking at me as she asked.
“We work together,” she explained, crossing her arms. I recognized that look. It was the one I’d seen her give in meetings when things weren’t going our way. It was hard to piss Gina off, but once you had, things got ugly fast.
“Mallory and I just met,” I told her, trying to decide which one I needed to justify knowing.
“You were the one she had sneaking out of here the other night,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
“I had no idea you lived here. If I had, I would’ve never…” I trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” she snipped.
“Okay, now I think I’m the one who needs someone to explain to me what’s going on…” Mallory said. “What am I missing?”
“Nothing’s going on,” Gina said, shaking her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Absolutely nothing.” She backed away before I could say anything—not that I was sure what I should say—and disappeared down the hall.
Mallory watched her go with wide eyes then looked back at me. “Sorry, did you two have a thing or something? She seems pissed.”
“Not exactly.” I sighed. “I’m-I’m sorry. I should go talk to her.”
“Excuse me?”
I walked past her, knocking on the door I’d watched Gina disappear into. She opened it immediately, standing before me with a grim expression. “You don’t have to explain, Peter. Truly, you don’t. You don’t owe me anything.”
“But I want to, okay?” I said. “I care about you. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”
“I just…I can’t. I don’t have time for this. I didn’t want messy or complicated. That was the whole point. That’s what we talked about.”
“I’m not trying to make things complicated for you.”
“You’re sleeping with my roommate,” she said, her voice echoing down the hall. I heard Mallory walk out of the townhome, slamming the front door. Her eyes followed her then landed back on me.
“I slept with her once,” I said. “Yes. You’re right.”
“And I’m guessing you came back today to do the same thing.”
“I just…” I felt vulnerability creeping in. “I needed someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn’t judge me.”
“Is that what you want, Peter? To talk?”