Seductive Chaos (Bad Rep #3)(52)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

Gracie was starting to look increasingly uncomfortable. She fidgeted a bit and started to pick at her bagel.

“Well. . .um. . .” she began.

“Well, um, what?” I pushed.

“We had sex,” she said, dropping the bomb I had been expecting but was no less shocked to hear.

“Are you flipping serious?” I squealed, my voice reaching a piercing volume.

Gracie winced and nodded.

“When was this?” I asked, trying to be considerate of the fact that my roommate looked less than thrilled to be talking about this particular subject. But I wanted to know what happened. Because even though this seemed like a good thing, obviously it hadn’t turned out all sunshine and roses. Something had gone wrong afterwards.

“When we were in Raleigh,” Gracie admitted and it all clicked into place. I had wondered at the time where she was all night while I lay in her hotel room crying my eyes out. But I had been too mired in my own drama with Cole to put too much thought into it.

“So. . .” I prompted, wanting her to continue.

Gracie glared at me, clearly annoyed that I was pressing the issue.

“So, Mitch told me he loved me. I told him I couldn’t be with him. He got pissed. I got pissed. We fought. Now he’s dating some girl named Sophie he went to high school with.”

Wow, that was a lot of information for first thing in the morning.

“He’s dating someone? So soon?” I asked, still trying to process my friend’s angst filled story.

Gracie nodded, her jaw clenching. “Yeah. Apparently they had talked on and off for years. They dated for a while when they were seniors. He had mentioned her to me before, but whatever. It’s not like I have any say in what he does or who he sees,” she spat out defensively.

“Are you jealous?” I couldn’t help but asking.

Gracie glared at me again, but this time with a hell of a lot more venom.

“Why in the world would I be jealous? I just told you I turned him down. I told him that I couldn’t be with him. Mitch is my friend. That’s all he’ll ever be,” she argued.

“Except you’re not even really friends anymore,” I pointed out.

Gracie sighed. “Well, yeah, there is that.”

“But you slept with him,” I said slowly, trying to piece together the things Gracie wasn’t saying.

Gracie sighed again. “Yes, I did. I was drunk. Mitch was drunk. I was lonely and at the time I was feeling things, never mind, it doesn’t matter. I ruined an amazing friendship because I couldn’t keep my legs closed. I just had no idea Mitch felt that way.”

“Are you blind?” I laughed incredulously.

Gracie frowned. “I just didn’t think, I don’t know. I just can’t focus on a guy right now. No matter what I thought I felt at the time. Not with me only now starting to get my life back together.” She was insistent.

I had been worried something like this would happen eventually. The day had finally come when Mitch was tired of waiting around. And Gracie’s heart had gotten smooshed in the process. I just wish she wasn’t so damn stubborn.

She set her plate down on the coffee table and absently picked at a piece of fuzz on her skirt. “He’s with someone else now, so it doesn’t matter what I think about any of it anyway. It’s all a moot point.”

“That doesn’t explain why you aren’t talking,” I said.

Gracie gnawed on her bottom lip. “It’s too weird now. Stuff was said that can’t be unsaid. Some things you can’t come back from.” She got to her feet in a sudden, fluid movement.

“It sucks. I miss him. I really do. But he doesn’t seem to want to hear anything I have to say. And I have to accept that. I hurt him. I didn’t mean to, but I did. And if this Sophie girl can make him happy, then I’m happy.”

She was such a horrible liar.

But I didn’t call her on it.

We were quiet for a moment. We were both such a mess. Our love lives were in tatters at our feet. Both of us held prisoner by feelings we’d rather not have.

“I’ve got to get going. Wish me luck,” Gracie said after a while, giving me a forced smile.

I stood up and hugged her again.

“Good luck, G.” I rubbed her back and squeezed her hand.

As she walked out the door, I knew it was time we got up, dusted ourselves off, and stopped letting the men of Generation Rejects run over our hearts.

“I have something to ask you but I’m worried you’ll turn me down again,” Theo’s rich voice filled my ear as I leaned back in my desk chair.

We were only fifteen minutes into our now usual morning check-in. This morning had begun with the typical rundown of gala specifics that I was finalizing. The fundraiser was next weekend and I was up to my eyeballs in details. But I was excited. I had even been able to snag some extra tickets for Gracie, Riley, who would be down for the weekend, and Maysie. We were all planning to get dressed up and go together. I appreciated my friends’ support. Lord knows I’d need it.

If I didn’t expire from stress before then.

Marion had recently given me a new assignment. It was a concert series coming up in May. She seemed impressed with how I had taken charge of the Kimble event. She didn’t hesitate to pay me the compliments I needed to hear. She was a good boss. Efficient but not overbearing. And I liked being able to do well and prove she hadn’t made a mistake in hiring me.

If I were honest with myself, part of me would be slightly relieved once the gala was over. I loved that Theo and I had become friends but I was also aware of how precariously we were tiptoeing along the edge of dating. And I also knew that my less than subtle avoidance wouldn’t hold him off forever.

He had been considerate in not pushing me. But from the tone of his voice, I knew that he was through waiting.

“Okay,” I said, clicking my pen in an anxious gesture.

“I know you wanted to wait until the gala was over, but considering it’s only a little over a week away, I don’t think we would be doing anything wrong by having dinner together. There’s this great French place that just opened in Granton. It’s getting amazing reviews. I’d really like to take you there tonight if you’ll agree.” Theo’s offer was given with a mixture of barely concealed impatience and eagerness.

I sat up a little straighter in my seat, running through excuses in my head. Saying I have to wash my hair seemed like too much of a burn and I have a doctor’s appointment was totally ridiculous.