Oceans Apart Book 1 (Oceans Apart #1)(22)
I made a face, shuddering at the implications of that and the mental image. “How did you even end up with him?”
“I was drunk, and he was complimenting me left and right. Don’t judge.”
“I never would. A night in sounds nice anyway, especially since Brad’s been around so much. But it’s also been way too long since we’ve just hung out, you know? And since we live together, that’s sort of weird.”
Kari rolled her eyes and added ice and triple sec. “You know why that is, don’t you?” she asked before hitting the blend button. From her tone of voice, I knew I was going to get an answer to the question as soon as the drinks were ready, and Kari did not disappoint. “It’s because you’re always glued to your frickin’ computer these days. Or your phone.” She poured drinks into tall glasses and added the bendy straws. “We live and work together, and I feel like I never see you anymore.”
“Come on, Kari,” I retorted. “That’s ridiculous. We eat lunch together all the time. I made you dinner last week. I even stopped working out at lunch to spend some time with you.”
“We used to eat lunch together all the time. Now you get a sandwich and go back to your desk so you can talk to Tristan before he has to go to bed. Last week? You made dinner and then went into your room with your laptop to eat it. It’s like living with a teenager.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Oh, puh-leese, Gin. Even when you do remember I exist, all you talk about is Tristan this, Tristan that. ‘Tristan thinks I should try making Greek food. Tristan’s working on a new project at work, and he has great ideas. Tristan’s the only person in the world who matters anymore blah, blah, f*cking blah.”
“Ouch! That hurt! I don’t talk about him that much!” And it was hardly my fault if I liked him. He was interesting. And he was interested in me. How could I not talk to him?
“And that’s not fair!” I continued. “You’re supposed to be my friend. You’re supposed to be supportive. Because you’re not so different when you’re into someone. You didn’t hear me getting all bitchy when I had to hear about Mark and Paul and Stephen and James and Timothy and whoever the f*ck was the flavor of the week! I listened while you went on and f*cking on about their good qualities and then I listened when they were all *s and you wanted to hire a hit man! So whatever! I’m sorry that I’m such a selfish bitch!”
“You know what the difference between that and this is, though?” Kari asked, leaning over the counter and pinning me with a cool look. “Something happened with all of those guys. Something could happen. We could go out for coffee or drinks. They could dance with me. We could have sex without there being a webcam involved. It was real, Ginny.”
“Oh, like my feelings for him aren’t real?”
“What do you think is going to happen with this guy? He’s going to give up his cushy job in England and move here to be with you forever?”
“I…”
“Or what, you’re going to give up everything you’ve built here and go be with him? Is that the plan? Because really, I can’t see where you two are going with this, and maybe it would make more sense if I knew your plan. What is it, Ginny? Tell me the plan.”
I blinked and lowered my eyes to the counter, not sure what to say. I hadn’t really thought past what Tristan and I were doing, hadn’t even considered the long term. Tristan made me feel wanted, and it had been good enough for the past few months. He made me feel like I mattered. And Kari had a point. But I wasn’t going to let her know I knew she was right. Eventually, he’d want more. He’d want someone he could actually be with and touch and kiss and do all those wonderful things with.
From the look on her face, I could tell that Kari knew she had won. I didn’t want to stand there and let her see how bad I felt. Stupid. Childish. “You’re a bitch,” I said as I turned around and stomped out of the kitchen, grabbing my keys from the hook by the door, and storming out of the house, slamming the door behind me.
The day after the fight with Kari was one of the quietest ones I’d experienced since we’d moved in together. The tension was so thick I thought I would suffocate. Walking on eggshells in my own house didn’t help either. Kari seemed like she wanted to say something, but I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to hear her apology because I knew she would only be apologizing for hurting my feelings or being so harsh. She wouldn’t be apologizing for what she’d said though, because she had a point and we both knew it.
I wasn’t quite ready to face that. I had fun with Tristan, and after the virtual sex, we had gotten a lot closer and more intimate.
Saturday morning found me home alone in the house, having forgone the usual trip to the beach, so I pulled out my cloth shopping bags, and decided that instead of moping, I was going out to get some retail therapy.
Tristan hadn’t texted me yet either, but I wasn’t going to dwell on it. Instead, I put my phone in airplane mode so I couldn’t receive calls or texts for a while. I was going to go to the market and get some groceries and things I needed. That always put me in a better mood. Plus, I needed to head to the post office, and to the office supply store to buy a new mouse for my laptop. There were plenty of things I could do to keep my mind off everything.