Page 14 of Eight Steps to Alpha

“What?” Fe yelled back.

“You helping Elliot get another girl? I mean, after the incident and all.”

The dryer stopped, and the last four words came loud, clear, and precise for everyone to hear.

The

Incident

And

All

The blood left Fe’s face, and she turned to grab a paper towel from the dispenser. Screw the environment, she needed out of here. “No.” She threw the napkin in the trash. “And you really need to stop calling it that. It wasn’t an ‘incident.’ It was one kiss. A kiss that’s been long forgotten by both of us.”

April lifted her shoulders, and leaned against the wall. “How do you know it’s forgotten?”

Fe glanced around the bathroom, checking to make sure no one was listening. “Because. It’s been over three months, which is like three times longer than it takes to break a habit.” She pulled in a breath, and forced it out through her nose. “Can we just stop talking about it? Before I regret telling you anything about it in the first place.”

“Habit?” April’s eyes narrowed. “Wait—did you guys do it more than once?”

Fe rolled her eyes heavenward, and pushed one finger to her lips. “Shh…Addiction, dopamine….” But then she stopped her explanation and threw her hand in the hair. “You know what? Never mind. It was just a kiss. A kiss that only happened once. Or maybe it didn’t happen! It was so long ago, I don’t even re-mem-ber.” She turned on her heels then, exasperated by the whole conversation, and pushed the door open that lead back to the restaurant, but April’s voice halted her.

“Are you sure he’s forgotten, Fe? Have you ever thought about that?”

The question made her heart constrict. Because yes, she’d thought about it. More than once she’d thought about it. But if Elliot were still thinking about her, about their New Year’s Kiss, he wouldn’t be lusting after Mary Poppins, now would he?

It took a moment before she recovered, before she could move again, but she squeezed the door handle one more time, then let it fall closed behind her. “Stay out of it April. Just stay out of it.”

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