“Oh yeah? Maybe you can lend me your notes.”
Ethan’s eyebrows shoot up. There’s a hesitant note in his voice when he asks, “Getting back in the game already?”
Well, that’s laughable. I was never in the game to begin with. Jeremy was my second boyfriend. Not my first kiss, but my first everything else. If dating were a game, Ethan would have lapped the board a few times and I’d still be reading the instructions.
“No, but I suppose I’ll have to eventually,” I say.
The words sound casual, even though they rub painfully against the edges of my cracked heart.
I truly thought that Jeremy was my person, the one I’d spend the rest of my life with. Not only am I crushed by the realization that he’s not, I’m also distrustful of my own taste in men right now. But I’m not ready to give up on love or on my happily ever after. I just need some time to reflect and recalibrate.
“Well, whenever you’re ready, I’ll draft up some notes for you,” Ethan says with a smirk.
There’s nowhere else to go with this conversation that doesn’t feel too intimate. We need to steer ourselves back into safe waters for the sake of our professional relationship. To do that, I need to get out of his clothes and out of his house. Seeing Jeremy is the last thing I want to do, but I need to go home. Ethan has been more than accommodating and understanding, but I’m sure he wants his personal space back.
I cram one last syrupy bite of pancake into my mouth and start to stand.
“I’m going to go change then I’ll head home,” I say. “Thanks again for everything.”
Ethan glances at me. There’s a long pause. His tongue pokes at the inside of his cheek like he’s mulling something over.
“You can stay if you want,” he says as I’m turning to walk away.
Did I hear him correctly? Surely, he wants his miserable, hungover assistant who demanded spaghetti, threw it up, then mysteriously left a bra in his hallway out of his house as soon as possible. I turn around to face Ethan, whose face gives nothing away. I can’t tell if he’s being sincere or if this is just a pity offer.
“I mean, if you aren’t ready to go home just yet. I can’t imagine I’d want to hash things out with an ex in your current state. If you need some more time to recover, the spare bedroom is all yours for the rest of the weekend.” Shrugging casually, he adds, “Your call.”
I should say no, but the only thing that sounds worse than moping around my boss’s mansion is dealing with Jeremy right now.
“Actually, yeah” I say slowly. “I wouldn’t mind a little more time. I promise to stay out of your way.”
“I’ll be busy most of the weekend anyway, so you’ll pretty much have the place to yourself.”
“Okay, um, thank you.”
Ethan flashes his trademark charming smile at me from across the counter. “No problem.”
***
That night, I make some popcorn and curl up on the sofa to read in the smallest of Ethan’s three living rooms.
After napping and rehydrating, I’m feeling better, physically at least.
True to his word, Ethan hasn’t been around much today. He showed up around seven o’clock and emerged from his room half an hour later freshly showered, shaved, and dressed. I assume he has a date but didn’t ask. It’s none of my business. He’ll probably be home late, possibly with a beautiful woman in tow. Given the size of Ethan’s home, I doubt I’ll be in their way, but I’ve already scoped out a couple quick escape routes if he planned to use this room for his… activities.
My phone chimes on the cushion beside me. I roll my eyes, already knowing who it is. Jeremy has been texting and calling me all day. It started with apologies, then backtracking with a hint of gaslighting, and eventually morphed into anger when I refused to tell him where I am. Now he’s accusing me of cheating, which is ironic on so many levels.
Truthfully, I’m just done. I have nothing else to say to Jeremy. The last message I sent simply told him to please pack up hisstuff and be out of the apartment by five o’clock tomorrow. Between his family and friends, he has plenty of places to stay until he finds another apartment. I, on the other hand, seem to have no options aside from camping out at my boss’s house.
Telling Jeremy where I am is out of the question. He’s always been strangely jealous of Ethan. Not because of how well we get along—a fact he’s probably never even noticed—but because of Ethan’s wealth and status. Jeremy has a lot going for him, but he’s certainly not Denver’s Most Eligible Bachelor. There was a time when he would have laughed at a list like that, but now I think he would probably sell his soul to be on it.
I pick up my phone. Twelve unread messages await me, all from Jeremy. I toss it back down on the sofa next to my e-reader without reading any of them.
Right as I’m stuffing a whole handful of popcorn into my mouth, the sound of footsteps approaching draws my attention to the nearby hallway. My heart leaps and so do I, launching off the sofa and spilling some popcorn. There’s no time to clean it up. If Ethan is on his way into this room with his date, I need to leave. Stat. We’ve had enough awkward moments this weekend already.
Glancing around the room, I dart towards exit plan A: a short hallway that leads to a staircase and eventually back to the guest bedroom.
Hope Ethan and his date like books about sexy blue aliens, mysterious trails of popcorn, and incessant texting from my ex-boyfriend.