Page 59 of I'm Looking for a Man in Finance
“So, you’re telling me you and James made out in our room while I was outside getting hammered and just when things were about to getfun,you panicked?” Roxie stared at me in disbelief as I packed sandwiches, chips, and fruit for all of us into a cooler.
I glanced out the French doors, motioning for Roxie to lower her voice. Sebastian and James were down by the docks, far enough from the house, but the mere thought of James overhearing this conversation made sweat break out across my forehead.
“And we arenevertalking about this again,” I stressed, glancing back at her. “You and I both know I can’t keep anything from you. So, I’d rather tell you and we can both pretend it never happened.”
Roxie stared at me like I’d lost my mind, and maybe I had.
I’d tiptoed down to the kitchen this morning, hoping to avoid any attention, especially from James. But when I saw James and Sebastian by the pool, I thought I could stretch out avoiding him a little longer. Instead, Roxie had walked into the kitchen and insisted we join them outside.
The forced smile plastered on my face and Roxie’s sudden silence made it clear we were both hiding something.
“Hallie, if you think I’m going to pretend that you sabotaging your chance at happiness never happened, you are sorely mistaken.” Roxie packed towels and sunscreen in a separate bag as she stared down from across the kitchen counter.
“Fine.” I tilted my head, studying her. The woman standing before me now, packing for a day by the water, wasn’t my best friend. She was acting strange, and I wasn’t going to let it slide. “Then tell me why you’re acting different since we arrived here? Since James first asked us to come?”
Roxie narrowed her eyes. But she didn’t immediately deny her strange behavior.
“If you spill yours, I’ll spill mine,” I tried.
“It’s Sebastian.”
“Did something happen between the two of you last night?” I asked. Before this weekend, the two had only ever hung out once before. I had been sitting next to her the entire time at the bar when they had met. Nothing had happened then. So that couldn’t explain why Roxie had been acting weird before we even arrived.
“Nothing happened between us last night.” There was a finality to Roxie’s words, leaving no room for me to question her.
“So, what is it?”
Roxie looked like she wanted to fire my own words back at me. But instead, with a sharp intake of breath, she dropped a bombshell, the words hanging heavy in the air. “I’ve known Sebastian for some time.”
My mouth nearly unhinged. “What do you mean, you’ve known him for some time? The two of you introduced yourselves to each other at the bar.”
“Well, because I didn’t actually know his name.” Roxie looked down at the contents of the bag she was packing. “We had a one-night stand a few years back. I’d met him out at a club. I think you were stuck at the office that night because you hadn’t come out with me. It had meant nothing. Just scratching an itch. I’d never expected to see his face again until he walked up to us that day in the bar with James. That’s it. That’s all.”
“Why didn’t you tell me after we left the bar? Why didn’t you tell me after James invited us here, and you knew you’d have to spend the entire weekend with him?”
Roxie laughed. “And give up the chance to spend Memorial Day weekend in the Hamptons? Not a chance.”
“You spent a while with him last night,” I continued. We always shared everything.
“We did. We had a conversation, Hallie. Just talked. About that night we met and about our lives. That was it.” Roxie raised an eyebrow. “It sure gave you plenty of time to get busy.”
“We’re not talking about me.”
“Well, we’re done talking about me because there’s nothing left to say,” Roxie replied. “So, all that’s left is you.”
The moment that Roxie crossed her arms over her chest, I knew I would not get out of this one.
“I don’t know what else there is to say.” I sighed. “I’m not even sure what’s happening. I can’t make sense of it.”
“Make sense of what?” Roxie walked around thecounter, reaching out for me once she was close enough. “Not everything has to make perfect sense, Hallie.”
“We had a plan. Adeal. Five dates. That was it.”
It was the same excuse I’d given James last night. It rang false then, and it rang false now.
Understanding dawned on Roxie’s face. “And growing feelings for each other was not part of that deal?”
“It wasn’t part of the deal,” I agreed.
