Page 65 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“I thought Nathan could take me to the Metropolitan Opera. It would be my first time going there. I just saw thatL’Elisir d’Amorepremieres in mid-December. Nowthatwould be a big, juicy first.” I pretended to check my nails as I waited for a reply.
William had me cornered against the wall. I had no space to move, but I was sure he would let me go any second now.
“It’s a special two-day function, and unfortunately for Nathan”—he almost spat his name—“it’s sold out.” I looked away, sullen. I really wanted to go. But wait.Did he check for ticket availability?
Why?
“And I only pretended to date Erin for the premieres. It was a work thing, and I accepted because I was enraged! I saw you kissing Thomas a day afterwekissed. A day after I opened up myself to you and told you how she had cheated on me. What did you want me to think? I was disappointed.” He closed his eyes for a second and continued. “I’ve told you thisplentyof times, but you don’t seem to care or listen.”
Care. Wow.Look who’s talking.
“Youcould’ve listened to me, and you wouldn’t have tothink…things,” I told him. “You would’ve known the truth. But you’re too proud to listen.”
“I don’t care about that kiss or the reason behind it. I don’t. All I want is for you to believe me because I haven’t lied to you. Ever.”
“That’s the part I’ve been struggling with,” I said, out of space to take a step back. I couldn’t think clearly when he was that close to me, but he didn’t seem to care about the lack of space between us. “Sometimes words aren’t enough. I don’t trust you anymore. I did at first, but now …” The conversation was useless. He was offering me more words. Words that I couldn’t rely on. Words I could easily toss to the side.
“You need to stop this—pretendingto date Nathanthing you’ve got going on because I’ve already stopped pretending to date Erin. It’s bullshit.”
And what about the pictures of him holding Erin’s hand and kissing her a few days ago? But I wasn’t going to get into that again. He knew I saw something in the tabloids. And he claimed not to know what it was.
But the photographs couldn’t have been more explicit. And it’s not like he was sleepwalking around Europe holding hands with her and licking ice cream off her mouth, unaware of his actions. What I didn’t understand is why he thought he could keep lying to me about her. About that.
“Wewill stop pretending whenever we feel like it.” I turned around, opened the door once again, and stormed out of his apartment. He didn’t stop me this time.
“Did he kiss you?” he asked in barely a whisper as I waited for the elevator to take me away.
“No,” I replied without turning around. William sighed with relief. “Ikissed him.”
I stepped into the elevator, and he darted behind me. I clicked the door close button (that doesn’t work for shit) five times, hoping for a miracle. William stepped in with me, and the doors closed a wink later behind him.
He groaned. “You’re just saying that because you’re hurt. I know that much.”
“No. I’m saying that because it’s the truth. I’m not a liar like you are.Ikissed him first. It’s the first time I kiss a guy before they kiss me. I hope you’re taking note of things to cross out from your firsts list. Soon I’ll have no more left for you to claim.”
William cursed under his breath. “You think I’m a liar because you don’t want to listen to what I have to say. And when I do get the chance to sayanything, you don’t believe me. I’ll just have to show you instead of telling you. And I know how to do that.”
“You just don’t get it, do you? You’ve shown enough, believe me,” I replied, exasperation exuding out of every word I uttered.
I knocked on my apartment door since I left without a key. Sophie still had it. She opened the door for me, and her eyes went wide with surprise. She was starstruck.
“Hope you enjoyed the threesome yesterday,” I said, taking a step inside my apartment. I looked over my shoulder and said, “Oh, and those photographs of you and Erin kissing in London are cute too.” I couldn’t shut up, couldn’t I?
“I see now,” he said with a surprised look on his face, almost amused. “Is that what you think that was? A threesome?”
“I know it was. Say hi to Erin for me. Perhaps we can go on a double date sometime when she’s back from Europe. Or a triple date. God knows how many women you’d show up with.”
He laughed—the cynic.
I shut the door in his face, doubting my assumptions about the so-called threesome. But I didn’t care anymore to know what the truth was.
Well, maybe a little.
I hated that William had this powerful magnetic pull over me. But one thing I knew for sure—Nathan was starting to have an equally strong pull as well.
November 28, 2009
THE DOORBELL RANG,but I was still on the phone with Cecile. We’d been talking for over an hour. She was still having a hard time dealing with her breakup with Paul. She told him everything as soon as she went back to Paris. But I applauded her for her honesty. She could’ve said nothing, and he would’ve probably never found out. But that’s not Cecile.
