Page 104 of Sweet Little Thing

I slowly bent my knees and sat on the rug beneath me. I couldn’t bring myself to drink and eat on his furniture.

Shay rolled her eyes at me and Chantel handed me a vodkasoda. “Drink up,” she said cheerily.

I wrapped my hands around the cold glass and looked at it for only a second before taking a long swig. Shay was right. I was uptight and needed to relax.

Shay clapped. “Bravo! Now eat a sandwich or ten. They’re tiny as hell.” Shay glanced over at Chantel. “You could use ten or so sandwiches yourself.”

Chantel plopped on the sofa and curled her legs underneath her. It was impressive, considering she had legs as long as most people were tall. “I’m drinking my calories,” she replied. “Did you get in touch with Fiona? Is she coming?”

Shay reached for the Makers Mark bottle and poured a neat glass for herself. “She’s on a date. New guy.”

“Ah, Bruno. I forgot about that,” Chantel said thoughtfully.

“His name is Bruno?” Shay sounded amused. I had to agree the name was interesting.

“Yep. He’s a schoolteacher. High school algebra. She met him getting coffee.”

I couldn’t imagine Fiona with a teacher. She seemed too glamorous, but the juxtaposition made me smile. Or it was the vodka making me smile. The bite of donut was not soaking up the little bit of vodka I had consumed. I leaned back against the sofa and pulled my knees up, resting my drink on my right knee while I ate the rest of my donut with my left hand.

“Jasper showed up, and there was yelling. You ended up being intercepted by Fiona at Stone’s request. Stone left you a letter the following morning, and now he’s gone, and you’re here. That’s the summary I got. Do you want to talk about it?” Shay stuffed a tiny sandwich in her mouth.

I thought for a moment, then tilted my head. “No. I would rather forget.”

“Fair enough,” Chantel said. “Let’s talk about what you’re planning to do next.”

Talking that through wasn’t a bad idea. I had no one else to talk to and needed to figure things out. I sipped more of my drink and licked the sugar from my finger left by the donut before responding. “I think I’ll find an apartment outside of town. Rent is more affordable there. If I don’t keep my job with Geraldine, I will have to find work elsewhere. I’ve been putting money away, so I should be good for a few weeks.”

Chantel sighed. “Damn. I was hoping you’d stay and fight with him. He needs to have a fucking reaction to something instead of not giving a shit. I get so tired of that bored expression of his.”

“He’s been good to me and helped me when I was completely lost. I don’t know why he left, really. Unless I was asking for explanations for more than he wanted to tell me. In the end, it was his choice. Regardless, I can’t stay here and force him to stay away.”

“I don’t see why not. We like you better.” Shay smiled at me while she chewed the sandwich she just popped into her mouth.

They didn’t really know Stone. I assume that no one did—not even me. He was hard to get close to, but no matter his mistakes, I knew the goodness in him. Even if he had some twisted issues resulting from an abusive childhood. There was a kindness inside him.

“You haven’t seen him with Geraldine. I can’t describe the way he takes care of her, but he’s always there when she needs him. I know he loves her. He also went out of his way to help Jasper when he didn’t deserve it. Stone’s got a good heart. He’s just careful with people. There’s a lot of hurt and damage in his past.”

Chantel poured herself more vodka. “He’s an idiot. You see all that when no one else can see past the elitist, detached expression he always wears on his gorgeous face. He should have kept you. He needed to keep you. All the other women in his life were with him for this,” she held her hands out as if the room was why they were with him. “All the shit he has. His money.His name. And, of course, his talent in the sack.” She winced and gave me a sad smile. “Sorry. But I’ve heard the talk.”

Shay snorted. “Sure you have.”

I didn’t want to know if Chantel had slept with Stone. That was the last thing I needed to picture. Her perfect body was intimidating. “Don’t be a bitch,” Chantel said to Shay.

Shay shut up, and I was relieved. Then I drank some more. As the liquid started working its magic, my body began to feel loose and warm. I laid my head back on the sofa behind me and sighed.

“He is rather amazing. I didn’t have much experience with sex before him, but even I knew that wasn’t normal. It was earth-shattering.” My tongue had started wagging of its own free will, apparently. I didn’t care. It was true.

“And the vodka has taken effect just that quickly. Give her another donut.” Shay laughed.

Before I could say anything else, a donut was in my hand. I didn’t even look at it as I stuffed a bite in my mouth and chewed, smiling. The donuts were good. Calories and Chantel’s perfect butt didn’t seem important anymore. I’d rather eat the sugary goodness than have her body. At least right now. Tomorrow morning, I would likely feel differently. That thought made me laugh.

Opening my eyes, I studied the chandelier’s twinkling lights above us. It probably cost more money than I had made in my short life. It was beautiful. Elegant. “Do you think Stone has ever studied that chandelier before? Like really appreciated how pretty it is when the lights are on and all the crystals glitter.”

“Uh, no. Unless he has been sitting where you are drunk off his ass,” Shay replied.

“It really is something. Do y’all think Marty and Fiona will ever hook up again?” Chantel changed the subject, and I turned my head to look up at her on the sofa. She was fixated on thechandelier lights now.

“I think they still fuck regularly,” Shay replied.

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