Page 84 of New Growth
“Seriously, Elliot? You’re asking me that after last night?”
“El—”
“I thought we were making progress, Peanut,” he said in a disappointed tone.
I let out a short breath, stepping back. “I told you before, there’s no we, Elliot. There’s no us. You want to be friends? Fine. But thinking you have a say over my life is not the way to keep this friendship going.”
He clenched his jaw. “I don’t want you to go.”
I didn’t want to go either.“It’s not your decision.”
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
I grabbed my bag, not trusting myself to look at him for too long. “Thank you for today, El. I really appreciate it.”
Then I turned and left.
Protection.
Watchingpaintdrywouldbe more interesting than whatever the hell this white man was saying to me.
Esther better thank God I loved her because she had the worst taste in men.
What was her type?Big, muscular idiots who never matured past college. That was her weakness. The kind of guys who still high-fived after sex, wore too much cologne, and smiled constantly like they were expecting a surprise photoshoot.
The kind of guys who needed hype-man for a simple date.
She met this one through his publicist. Esther did her nails, and now she was convinced I needed to suffer through an evening with his scrawny little friend, the friend whose sole purpose in life was to boost his ego. This whole thing was a set-up.
Esther was a squirrel looking for a nut, and I was just the unfortunate bystander forced to entertain his equally dull sidekick.
I sighed and glanced across the table at Ethan. He was talking to the waiter, taking forever to order a cocktail. Once the drinks were ordered, he flashed me a polite smile.
“So, Ellie, what’s it like owning a salon?”
“Busy.”
The word came out blunt, short, and dismissive.
Across the table, Esther cleared her throat dramatically. That was her way of telling me to be nice.Fine. I could pretend to be interested.
“What about you? What do you do for work?” I asked to get him talking about himself, even though I was well aware.
“I’m in PR.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you like it?”
And as soon as he started talking, I tuned out. I shouldn’t have come here. I could be in bed right now, binge-watching something with a glass of wine in my hand.
Or sleeping on El’s chest again like he offered.
I inhaled sharply.
No. Nope. I wasn’t thinking about that.
I forced myself to nod along with Ethan as if I were following, but my mind was elsewhere. Specifically on a certain man who didn’t bore me to death.
El hadn’t called, though I wasn’t sure why I expected him to.
