Page 30 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things

“You must be blind, because there’s just no other explanation for it.” Her sentences were littered with pants for breath as we walked. The roads weren’t smooth, and our lungs—not to mention our calves—were paying for it. Thankfully, my ankle could handle the stress, and my feet continued pounding the pavement, determined to get to our destination. Angela, the goat-yoga enthusiast, did a poor job at keeping up.

“Felipe said Dr. Campbell was there, too,” she huffed.

I halted in my tracks. My hands clenched in irritation. “You spoke to Felipe about our night out?” She was supposed to be my friend. I’d have to check the bylines again, but I was pretty sure talking about me behind my back violated girl code.

“Relax! We weren’t gossiping or anything. I woke up to pee in the middle of the night and ran into Felipe on his way out of the bathroom. All I asked him was how his evening was, and he offered up that Dr. Campbell was on a date with some good-looking chick.”

It had been irrational of me to jump down Angela’s throat like that, but that’s what James did to me. He turned me into a paranoid maniac, and I couldn’t shake this nervous feeling now that I had heard his name.

“Did Felipe say anything else about me?” He hadn’t seemed suspicious of me lurking in the corridor at the pub. I’d covered for my flustered appearance by saying that I wasn’t feeling well, and we had left for the hostel soon after.

Angela grabbed my elbow, and I paused to glance at her. She was red-faced, blonde hair sticking to the sweat on her neck. “Why are you being so paranoid?”

I shrugged her hand off. “I just don’t like being talked about.”

“We weren’t talking about you! He didn’t even utter your name. Jesus Christ, you need to get a grip.” Her loud voice attracted unwanted attention from curious pedestrians.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I continued walking, wishing I could take back my outburst.

But Angela stayed rooted to the spot. “Are you hiding something?”

“What?! No!” I shot back, the tips of my ears suddenly hot. If she busted out some red robes and a cross, confessional-style, I was leaving her ass on these streets. “Why do you say that?”

“You just seem so defensive.”

Guilt gripped my stomach. Aside from my mom, Angela was the only person I shared my secrets with. However,thissecret was one that I couldn’t share with anyone.

I sighed. “I’m just exhausted.” This was partially true. We had taken an early flight out of Luxor to Cairo. It was only an hour’s worth of air time, but we’d had to leave first thing in the morning if we wanted to make it back to the airport in time for the last flight back to Luxor in the evening.

Thankfully, Angela decided to drop the subject of my suspicion and continued walking. “So, how did Dr. Campbell’s date look?”

Another jaw-clenching topic.

“Fine,” I gritted out.

Angela must not have noticed my tone. “Fine?! That’s all you have to say? No details?!”

She was really pissing me off with her questions. I should have come on this trip alone.

“Uh...I don’t know. She was pretty.” She was more than fucking pretty; she was a damn supermodel. James had said that she was just a colleague, but could I believe him? I barely knew him—although, yeah, his fingers had been knuckles-deep in my vagina, so it was safe to assume that we were at least on a first-name basis now.

“I can’t imagine him on a date,” Angela said. “He’s so serious all the time. I bet you he’s a man who just fucks you raw and leaves you wanting more.”

My heart started racing like it was going to burst in my chest. “Not me. I’m not fucking anyone,” I answered hastily.

Wrinkles formed on her nose. “I didn’t meanyou, Perfect Polly. I know you’re not fucking anyone. After your failed date with Felipe, I’m starting to believe that you’re asexual.”

I threw my hands in the air. “It wasn’t a date!”

“Yes, yes. We all know about yournon-date. Calm down! So, what was Dr. Campbell wearing?” Her eyebrow hiked with renewed interest. The woman was incorrigible when it came to the topic of men.

“Why are you so interested in him?” It bothered me that she kept bringing Dr. Campbell up.

“I need some new material for my bedtime masturbation.”

My hands flew to my ears. “Ewww! Please, stop!” I shared a room with Angela, and I didn’t want to know what she did under her covers while I tried to sleep barely two feet away.

She scoffed. “You’re such a prude. You know what your problem is?”

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