Page 87 of The Desire

“Wait, he messaged you?” My brain starts short circuiting.

“Why do you think I called you back after you called me to talk for the second time today with some lame excuse about checking if you wanted gravy on your roast? Surely you knew I’d already know that answer. Look, he didn’t say why, but I knew it was about him. Christ, I already knew that the moment I spoke to you this morning the first time. I just can’t believe what you are saying is true, so we need to find out what is going on so we can then get on with having cute double dates and planning another wedding.”

I groan at her words, already thinking how badly I’m going to regret telling her everything.

“Can we not go all Tori on this? We aren’t even together right now.” The sadness sinks into my gut again at spending another night alone in his bed.

“Oh, that’s just geographically, but there is no way you two aren’t together. There is no way the heat in this exact room last night when I brought up the date with Dr. Hottie is going away anytime soon. That man would chain you to him if he could, rather than let another man touch you.” Tori laughs at herself.

“Hang on, let’s rewind a little. If you knew we were together, why did you set up this date with Drew?”

“Seriously, Lou, sometimes you are so naïve. I knew if I pushed you both hard enough something would have to give and either Rem would explode last night and blurt it out to everyone, or I would force your hand to tell me to back off. But we both know Flynn’s naked ass put an end to that but only for the time being. But it could still work in a different way.” The look of mischief in her eyes tells me I’m in trouble, and once again, I won’t be able to say no to her.

Flopping my head back on the back of the couch, I sigh into the air. “I should be worried, shouldn’t I?” I pull my hands from hers and place them over my eyes, spreading my fingers and peeking through at her.

Tori pretends to be shocked. “Whatever do you mean, Lou? You know I’ve got this all under control.”

“Lies, all lies, but tell me your plan anyway so I can hit the anxiety button even harder. If I wasn’t already going to have trouble sleeping tonight, then what you say next I’m sure will push me to the point of insomnia anyway.” Sitting back up, I get ready for whatever crazy scheme she has conjured up.

“I wasn’t joking about the dress for Friday and all the accessories.” Raising her eyebrows up and down, she looks ridiculous, but it makes me smile.

“There is no way Rem will go to the dinner on Friday night after what I said. Plus, I don’t think that’s the place to have our big heart-to-heart talk, do you?” I already know she will have an answer for any question I throw at her.

“Pfft, don’t you worry about that. I’ll get him there. Your job is to turn up and look hot as fuck, and no matter what you said today, he won’t be able to resist you.” And then her second thought pops into her head. “Oh, and don’t worry about Flynn, I’ll sort that too—well, not the sex tape, but the you-and-him problem. I can fix that one easily.”

“Crap, yes, Flynn, I don’t want him hurt, especially now when he is already in a shit place. Like I have already said before, this sounds like a terrible plan. What, you think just because I look good, he is going to forgive me? But that doesn’t necessarily mean I want to forgive him!” I stand up and pace a little.

“What a load of bollocks. Stand still, look me in the eye, and tell me you truly believe that Rem has been cheating on you with a hooker. Really! Come on, you can’t honestly believe that.” Standing in front of me, she pushes me to say what is on my mind like only Tori can.

“Alright!” I throw my hands in the air in exasperation. “No, I don’t think Cherie is a hooker, but who the hell is she and why didn’t he just tell me when I asked, well, possibly yelled?”

“Right, I don’t know the answer to that except to say he is a stupid butthead, and when I sort this shit out between you two, I will tell him how much of a dick he is and how he is going to pay big time for hurting you.”

Wrapping Tori in my arms, I take comfort from her craziness which sounds ridiculous, but it’s what feels normal. If Tori was all soft, comforting, and crying with me then I would know this is way worse than I already think it is and that the world was about to end.

“This burns coming out my mouth, but I’m saying it anyway—I trust you,” I admit, taking a deep breath. “I love him and need him back here where he belongs. I need your help to make that happen.”

Before I can take much more of this touching moment, Tori pushes me away. Dancing around the room, she sings the words, “Lou trusts me and wants my help. Life is good. Lou trusts me and wants my help. Life is awesome. I’m the queen of fixing shit.” And that is when I know she’s reached her quota of alcohol. Time to message her driver to pick her up.

As she is standing at the front door and leaving for the night, I put my arms around her.

“Thank you. Love you, and I couldn’t get through this without you.” Tears are welling in my eyes as she starts giggling.

“Finally, the woman realizes she can’t go through life without me. So, if you ever keep anything from me again, I will kill you! Or maybe not that extreme, but you know, do something drastic, like putting a spell on you so you can’t eat chocolate ever again. Yes, that would be worse than death, I reckon.” She laughs at herself, which is a common occurrence for Tori, but instead of leaving me on the doorstep in tears, she walks down the steps, waving to me over her shoulder.

“My work here is done. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we start operation find that Cherie bitch and have Rem on his knees begging to get you back on Friday night. No one messes with us!” The driver closes the door on the car, and I walk inside laughing harder that I thought was possible with how bad today had been.

Locking the door, I tidy up our mess and hide the chocolate before I have a crazy child in the morning finding it and getting high on sugar. As I set the alarm on my way up to bed, the house feels so empty.

Checking in on Blaise, I see he hasn’t even moved from where he fell asleep as I was reading the first book at bedtime. I bend down and kiss his forehead, leaving him to enjoy his happy dreams, not knowing there is turmoil all around him.

Finally settling down in Rem’s bed, his scent wraps around me, bringing me both comfort and sadness. Although I understand after talking to Tori that I trust Rem, it doesn’t stop me from needing to know more. If we are to have a real relationship and one that will stand the test of time, any secrets we have need to be revealed, and that takes total honesty from both of us.

I can’t say what I need to say over a message, but I need him to know that there is still hope.

Lifting my phone and before I regret it, I type out three simple words.

Elouise: I miss you.

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