Page 43 of Use Me
He nodded and took another sip of his wine. “So you and Rhys broke up?”
My breath caught. “Rhys? I’m not dating Rhys.”
Philip chuckled without sound. “You two told me you were dating for four months about a month ago. So you broke up or …”
I stared at him as realization dawned on me. He was the guy who’d caused me to actually meet Rhys. The one I wanted to leave me alone when I was trying to drown my sorrows because of Corey. I hadn’t got a good look of the guy because I didn’t want to make eye-contact with someone I was lying to. But he did look familiar and now confirmed it.
Before I could answer his question, he asked another, “Or are you just sleeping with him?”
I started to stand to leave, but he grabbed my hand. “I’m only trying to figure out if I have competition. That night I did, and Rhys won. I’m not mad.”
After a few moments of hesitation, I swallowed and sat back down. “Rhys and I are only friends. That night I didn’t want to be bothered because I’d actually broken up with my boyfriend.”
“Corey.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood. “How do you know about Corey?”
Philip grinned. “I Facebook stalked you after we met.”
“My profile is private,” I stated. I’d made sure of that because I didn’t want random people to friend or follow me. I did, however, have a business page, but I’d never shared anything personal on it.
“Not your profile pictures.”
“Oh,” I breathed as once again Philip stated facts.Facts about me and my life.But I’d deleted all pictures of Corey after we broke up. Or at least I thought I had.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be in some sort of love triangle.”
I took a deep breath before responding. “No, you’re not.” I meant it because after this date, I was never going out with this guy again. Something seemed off about the entire conversation and him.
“Good. Let’s enjoy ourselves then.” Philip looked out at the Chicago skyline, and I did as well. We were silent for a few minutes as I watched the snow fall from the sky and disappear many stories below.
My phone buzzed in my clutch that was sitting on the table. I was silently praying the waiter would bring our dinner, but a fake emergency text could work. Normally, I wouldn’t bother to see who it was, but I needed any excuse to get out of here.
Jaime: How’s your date going?
“Everything okay?”
“I think so. I’m just going to use the restroom and give my friend a call back to make sure.”
“No problem,” Philip said and reached for the bottle of wine to refill our glasses.
I grabbed my clutch and stood. Just as I was about to turn the corner to ask the hostess where the restroom was, I looked back at Philip and saw what appeared to be him slipping something into my drink.
My body went cold, and my heart started to race. Was he drugging me? How was this happening? Of course, I wouldn’t have slept with him tonight, but I’d mentioned to him that if things went well with this date, then there would be more. How could there be more if he drugged me? I would never go out with this guy again, especially if I woke up tomorrow and didn’t remember anything.
I hurried to the coat check instead of the restroom, gave the attendant my ticket and turned to the elevators to leave. I wasn’t going to tell Philip goodbye, and I wasn’t staying for the meal. If I were to go back into the dining room, I was sure I’d cause a scene, and I couldn’t have that floating around on the internet. Instead, I pressed the button for the elevator over and over until it came. Then I did the same with the lobby level button until I was on the ground floor. I hadn’t even used the app to call Uber. Instead, I hailed a cab and got the fuck out of there.
As soon as my broadcast was over, I went home. I wasn’t in the best mood. The Blackhawks had lost, and Ashtyn was out on a date.
When Ashtyn mentioned that she’d agreed to go out with that guy, I told her I would be working. That was partially true because the Hawks had an early game and I’d be home at a decent hour. I hadn’t even heard from her since she texted me she had a date, and that just caused me to be even more in a bad mood. My horrible mood lasted all week.
While she and I were friends with benefits, I wanted more with her. However, I might have waited too long to make my move. I thought I was giving her time to figure out what she wanted or who for that matter, so I never pressed her to be more. And then when she mentioned some guy wanted to take her out, I just let it happen.
I fucking let it happen.
Now as I pulled into my parking space in my garage, Ashtyn was out with this guy, and I was left to wonder if she was having a good time. Of course, I wasn’t going to be that crazy guy and text her or call her. If she ended up liking the dude, then she and I were only meant to be each other’s rebound.
Instead of going up to my condo, I decided to go to Judy’s. I needed a drink and not one where I was drinking alone. If anything, I could talk to Tommy. Bartenders did that sort of shit, and Tommy and I had some sort of friendship since I’d been frequenting Judy’s for the past several years.
