Page 21 of Trustfall

I drop my phone like it’s on fire. It might as well be.

Just like that, three years of repressed emotions come flooding back. I feel dizzy, overheated, nauseous. Rushing to the toilet, I crash to my knees but somehow manage to keep the vomit down.

I deleted him. From my phone, my life…all of it. I blocked his number when I first started seeing a therapist.

Without another thought, I delete the text and block the number.

Then I raise my hand and shakily continue to apply my makeup.

Just a few drinks won’t cut it anymore.

No, I need to forget tonight. I need to be numb.

Three hours later,I’m two glasses of wine and three shots deep. I’m feelinggood. Allie insisted we start at this classy wine bar, but I got bored and begged her to go to the new gastropub in Rocky Falls that turns into a club after hours. She reluctantly agreed.

Now I’m buzzed and happy, swaying to the music echoing around me. It’s a mess of sweaty bodies moving, writhing, grinding, and I’m right in the middle of it. I move and swirl my hips, my gin and tonic sloshing and spilling on my hand with every move I make. Allie makes her way over to me and spins me around to face her. Okay, I’m more than a little buzzed.

“I’ve been looking for you for the past twenty minutes and you’re in the middle of a bump n’grind?” Allie chides.

“Dance with me,” I yell over the music, ignoring her protests as I pull her onto the dance floor.

“Who the hellareyou? And what have you done with my sweet roommate who needed multiple diagrams to learn how to give a blowjob?”

“Mmmm. You know whose dick I want to suck?”

“I can take a wild guess.” She rolls her eyes. “Did you just say the word dick without blushing?”

“We kissed.”

“What?”

“Luke and I. We kissed after I stitched him up.” I ended up telling Allie part of the story, including Nate showing up, but I left out the kiss. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. But then alcohol happened, and now I just don’t care. She can torment me as much as she wants.

“You're telling me this now, twelve hours later? Was it a friendly ‘thanks for sewing me back up’ kiss, or a 'we're about to fuck' kiss? “Both,” I answer honestly because alcohol is the best truth serum out there.

“Then what happened?”

“I felt him get hard, and I freaked out. Then Nate came in and dumped a bucket of ice water all over the situation.”

“Sounds like Nate. I’m sorry, babe. Is that what all this is about?” she gestures to the club and the gyrating bodies surrounding us.

“Mostly,” I say. I may be dropping some truth bombs tonight, but there’s no way I’m talking about Jaxon’s text.

Just then, I hear a familiar masculine voice calling out my name from across the bar.

“Yo, Em! Emory Caldwell!”

I turn around and see Ashton heading toward me, a big, dopey grin on his face. This is the first time I've seen him in casual clothes, and I have to admit, he looks just as good in them as he does in a suit. His brown hair is styled perfectly, and he's wearing dark blue jeans and a cream waffle-knit henley. As he approaches, I throw my arms around him, and he responds with a tight, enthusiastic hug, lifting me off the ground for a moment before setting me back down.

“Ashton Tyler,” I giggle. “What are you doing here?”

“Meeting some friends. Heard this is the new hot spot.” He lifts up his drink, which has a cube of ice so big that it almost takes up the entire glass.

“Here’s to ironic mustaches and giant ice cubes,” I say as I cheers his glass and take a swig of my drink.

He laughs, and we catch up as I continue to chug my drink until I hear a throat clearing. Loudly.

“Oh my god. I’m so rude. Ashton, this is my best friend and roommate?—”

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