End of Story(88)

With a sloppy grin, Aaron followed his best friend back to the table.

I was invisible, I guess. It was the only possible explanation. A knot of tension rolled tighter in my stomach. The thought of eating did not thrill me. But I took a seat at my boyfriend’s side and smiled my prettiest smile. Tonight might not be going how I’d hoped it would, but whatever. Aaron was clearly having the time of his life. It would all be fine.

“What did you order?” asked Lars, seated opposite me.

“Crab cakes. What about you?”

“Shrimp and grits.”

“Ooh, good choice. We swapping plates halfway through?”

Lars nodded. “Absolutely. Save me some of the lemon.”

“You two are so weird with your food thing,” said Jane with a laugh.

I shrugged. “Trying more items off the menu is always worthwhile.”

Lars was too busy eating to answer.

With a lurch, Aaron got to his feet, a glass of whiskey in hand. Like he needed more. Guess he’d decided to make a speech after all. “Hey, everyone. Thanks for being here tonight.”

All twelve or so people who’d come out to wish him bon voyage fell silent. Quite a few had had other plans. But I had managed to get his core group of people from work and the gym and so on. The sound of silverware being set down and the music blasting out of the stereo filled the air. I took a sip of my sparkling water. One of us ought to be sober in case a coherent adult was needed.

And it didn’t matter that he didn’t thank me for organizing the party. Though, that would have been nice. Instead, he swayed on his feet and said, “Being offered this promotion was a...a real big deal, and I am so happy to get to see you all before I go. Real happy. This is a great night. The job is going to be fucking amazing. I can’t wait to get there and get started.”

He paused, and a couple of people politely clapped.

“Not finished yet,” he slurred. “That’s just the professional side of things. Personally, I can’t wait to get to London and enjoy everything, if you know what I mean.” Then he laughed and made a solid attempt at a wink. Which was not wildly dubious. At all.

What in the actual hell? I froze as almost every pair of eyes at the table fixed on me. My skin burned with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. In my lifetime’s top-ten most humiliating moments, this was the clear new winner.

Some idiot down at the end of the table shouted out, “Yeah, man! Go get it!”

Next came the sound of bro laughter.

“Did he just...” Jane said with her mouth hanging open in horror. “Holy shit.”

Lars gave her hand a squeeze. A silent plea for her to shut up if I ever did see one. Meanwhile, my idiot boyfriend sat down and drunkenly high-fived the two equally inebriated bros down at our end. The silence at the table continued until Lars picked up his fork and recommenced eating, as if nothing had happened. Jane followed his example, and then so did others.

This was not happening to me. Seriously.

I leaned closer to my boyfriend and asked in a low voice, “Aaron?”

“Hmm?”

“What did you mean by everything London has to offer?”

He scoffed. “Nothing, babe. Don’t worry about it.”

“Um. No. It wasn’t nothing. And I definitely am worried about it.” I licked my lips and chose my words with care. “You said you wanted us to try a long-distance relationship.”

“Yeah?”

I tried to offer him a smile, but it didn’t happen. My mouth wouldn’t tolerate the lie, apparently. “That’s what you want? You haven’t changed your mind?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I agreed. “But you also just insinuated that you’re looking forward to fucking around on me. So you can see how I might be a little confused.”

He let his fork drop, clattering on his plate. “Dammit, Susie, that’s not what I said. And you know I don’t like it when you talk like that. Ladies shouldn’t use that sort of language.”

“Stop being a hypocrite, and answer the fucking question.”

He winced as he gazed down the length of the table from beneath dark brows. As if he was worried people were listening to our conversation. “You and your jealousy. You’re always jumping to conclusions. To be brutally honest, this is part of why I’m going. To get some space from you.”

“What?”

“Can we just enjoy ourselves, please?”

I sat back in my chair and stared at him. Studied him, really. The way his shoulders were hunched over and how his jaw was clenched. Like he was hiding a secret or something. “Aaron, look at me.”

“What?” He stared at his plate. “Stop it. You’re causing a scene.”

“Look at me.”

“What?” he growled and finally met my eyes.

“Are you planning on cheating on me in London?”

He turned his face away. “Stop being ridiculous. God, you’re embarrassing. You’re ruining everything.”

My back snapped straight. It was like a light bulb had been turned on inside my head. And all of the metaphorical cockroaches scuttling for the shadows were... Whoa. It was heartbreaking and horrible in equal measure. The mess I had made. The familiarity of feeling this way, of knowing something was wrong. Only this time, I wasn’t falling for his bullshit that it was all my fault. I wouldn’t allow him to turn it around on me. I was well aware of my various issues and neuroses, but it wasn’t them leading me astray. It was him.