Page 3 of Basil

Something sharp lodged itself in my throat.

I nodded and then smiled, letting go of the pain, sending it into the universe because it hurt too much. Later, once I was alone, I would deal with it; for now, I would say goodbye.

“Congratulations, Drew,” I murmured.

“Thanks, Sum.”

Why on earth does she continue to call me something I’ve told her to not to?Because she’s a nasty bitch.

“I’m going to go to tell Karen.” Drew then smiled atmysoon-to-be-ex-boyfriend, nuzzled his chest and walked past me, her eyes triumphant, either because of the promotion she was getting or because she’d finally managed to break us up—or maybe both. Who the hell cared? She wasn’t my problem.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the caterer pour water into the glasses on the dining table where we were to have a sit-down dinner.

Basil came up to me and kissed my nose before I could step away. “You having fun, Sunshine?”

Loads!

But the way he looked at me, I felt my heart give. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, I told myself. I had been burned by my own insecurities before, had let doubt creep into places it didn’t belong. This was Basil, my boyfriend, the man I had loved.

“Basil, why was she kissing you?” I managed to ask.

He looked at me puzzled. “What?”

“She kissed you, Basil, on your lips.”The same lips you just kissed me with. I resisted the urge to wipe my nose off from his touch.

He shrugged. “She was just saying thank you. She’s touchy feely. You know that.”

“That was inappropriate, Basil.”

“Oh, Christ,” he groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Are we back to your middle-class morality?”

Heat crawled up my neck, a dizzy mix of humiliation and anger. My fingers curled into fists at my sides. This was the man I had been planning to spend my life with? The man I had defended, compromised for, loved?

“Itwasinappropriate,” I repeated. “Can’t you see that? From a personal perspective, because we’re supposedly in a committed relationship, and from a professional perspective, because that is not how corporate America works, and even I, who runs a hippie store, knows that.”

He shook his head. “Are we back to this? You want to go ahead and complain about something one of my friends said to you? Let’s get it all out so we can be done with it, and I can head back to the party and enjoy myself.”

Right! So, this is where I stood with him. I had begged him to hear me when I told him his friends didn’t respect me, that they didn’t see me as his partner, just some temporary distraction. And now, he was proving them right.

Something inside me snapped. Something I knew that had been going taut for months. It was bound to happen. I had hoped it wouldn’t because I was a stupid foster kid who didn’t believe in happily ever after but still dreamed of one.

“No, Basil, not this time.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I sidestepped him and went to the bedroom. I heard him follow me. He slammed the door shut behind him, the sound echoing through the apartment like a gunshot. I barely noticed. My blood was still boiling, my heart hammering against my ribs as I rounded on Basil.

“Summer, what doesnot this time mean?”

“It means I’m done!” I had no idea how my voice was so calm. “With you.”

Basil sighed, rolling up his sleeves like this was just another exhausting conversation he had to endure. “Summer, not tonight?—”

“No.” I took a step forward, the heat rising in my chest. “You don’t get to brush this off. I saw you withher.”

He blinked, looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language. “With who?”

“Drew.” I practically spat her name. “Thatkisswas not okay, Basil.”

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