Page 63 of Playing With Secrets
I nod. “Take a seat.”
As she gets situated, I try to hold myself together in my chair behind my desk. I’m still not where I can be near her.
Partially because I want to scream at her and confront her about the hurtful things she’s pulled, and partially because I can’t help but want to take her in my arms and kiss her.
I pick up a pen and mindlessly work it through my fingers to release some of my nerves.
She brings her sexy, long, thick auburn hair over one shoulder. Her neck is on full display. I have to look away.
She cuts in. “The last time we spoke outside of work issues, it didn’t go well. I know you said you didn’t want to speak to me anymore, but I need to say something. If you’re still upset with me after that and don’t want to be friends, I’ll understand.”
I exhale. She has to know I can’t say no to her.
I rest back in my chair and give her my attention. “I’ll give you the time to say what you need to say.”
She glances down and nods. “Thanks. I wanted to do this Friday night, but this is probably better. Anyway, I’ve thought a lot about what you said the other day. What I did that night with Hunter was completely inappropriate.”
“You think?” My sarcasm is obvious.
“Jami, I’m trying. This is difficult and embarrassing, so please don’t make sarcastic remarks.” Her eyes shine with genuine remorse, so I cave.
“Sorry. I’ll do my best to refrain.”
“Thank you. As you know, I’m in therapy. It’s helping. At least, I hope it is. Anyway, Melanie and I spent a lot of time together this weekend.”
I place my pen down. “What’s that got to do with our situation?”
“Those two things have given me some awareness about how I handle painful occurrences in my life. I was trying to avoid acknowledging what happened with our baby.” The words catch in her throat.
My heart aches remembering what we lost. I rub my chest to release the burn.
She regains her composure and continues. “It wasn’t healthy. I haven’t been dealing with the loss in a positive way.”
“Does that include hanging out with Hunter?”
“He’s not a bad guy, Jami. He tries hard for me.”
I roll my eyes. If she only knew what he did over theweekend, she might think otherwise. Knowing I’m about to say something rude, I keep my mouth shut.
“Jami, can I ask you a strange question that I can’t get out of my mind?”
“Sure. What do you want to know?” I lean my arms against my desk.
She subtly shakes her head. “Why did Hunter tell you what happened? Are you two close friends again?”
I snort a laugh at the thought. “No, we’re not friends. We tolerate each other, but you know how Hunter is. When he wants you to know something, he finds a way to slide it into the conversation.”
“How did he do that?”
“I don’t remember exactly, but he was talking about the morning Aiden and I came by. He threw it in there somewhere.”
She lowers her head and sighs. “I can see him doing that.”
“For what it’s worth and to give him a little credit. He told me you two haven’t had sex since before we went to Denver. Well, intercourse because of your UTI. Other stuff like oral… You know what I’m getting at.”
I glance away and try to find a way to recover from my embarrassing blunder.
“Yeah, I get the point. But Hunter and I haven’t been intimate since that night. Not that it matters.” Her cheeks turn red and she swallows hard. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”
