Page 88 of Work with Me

“And then he made me feel better. Safe. Cared-for. I thought it m-meant something.”

She walked to the bathroom and handed me a box of tissues. “And then?”

“We said we’d do something Wednesday. But he texted Tuesday to say he’d left. And when I asked if he was coming back, he didn’t respond. He g-ghosted me.” I hiccupped.

She rubbed a circle on my back. “Maybe something happened to him.” From the way the words came out through her clenched teeth, it sounded like if something hadn’t happened to him, she’d see to it that something did.

“The good thing about dating someone famous is that you pretty much know if something happened to them. I, ah”—I closed my eyes and sighed—“I set a Google alert for him. Nothing. Go ahead, you can tell me you told me so.”

“Why would I do that to you?” The circles didn’t stop.

“Because you told me not to get involved. That nothing good could come of this for me. That I’d get hurt. You were right.”

“I’m not going to kick you while you’re down. Love hurts enough.”

“Love?” I blotted my eyes. “I’m not in love.” Sure, I’d thought I was for a second. But I could erase it, pretend it never happened.

“Honey, you’re too smart, too driven, to have risked your career for anything less than love. I know you didn’t roll into bed with your coworker—”

“Former coworker.”

“And the best friend of the person who’s supposed to write you a testimonial. You wouldn’t have done that for lust. Love makes you do stupid things. If it hadn’t gone so wrong, I’d say I was proud of you for letting someone in.”

It’d only been a crack, but he’d shoved through it with his broad shoulders and left me gaping wide and bleeding out. The tears started to fall again.

Tavon pushed himself up, toddled over, and hugged me around my knees. I ran my hand over his soft curls.

“I won’t be making that mistake again.”

“Oh, honey. I know it hurts now. But didn’t it feel good for a minute? To care about someone and feel cared for?”

I tugged Tavon up into my lap and hugged him. “I guess.”

“Someday, you’ll find the right man who’s emotionally mature enough to talk about his feelings. Who won’t leave when things get hard.”

“There are guys like that? Couldn’t prove it by me.”

She pursed her lips. “You had a couple of bad examples.”

“This, right here?” I waved at my puffy eyes and tissue-roughened nose. “This is what happens when I let myself fall for a guy. You always make fun of me for dumping guys for trivial reasons. But that’s better than this.”

“Let it all out, honey.”

“Maybe I should start dating women, like Mom.”

“Maybe you should. But don’t get any ideas. I’m not about to start cheating on Orlando with your skinny, white booty.”

I chuckled, and then Tavon giggled, and I started laughing so hard I couldn’t stop.

“I’ve got orange juice and V-O-D-K-A. How about a screwdriver?”

I couldn’t stop laughing, but I gave her a thumbs-up.

After Tiannah went into the kitchen, Tavon gave me a sticky hug. Eventually, my hysterical laughter subsided. I inhaled his baby-shampoo scent. What had I done? Why had Jackson seemed so caught up in his feelings, too, and then…nothing?

I picked up Tavon and brought him to the kitchen, where I buckled him into his highchair. Tiannah set a sippy cup in front of him and scattered Cheerios across the tray. She handed me a drink.

“To my best friend, wise in the ways of the heart.” I clinked my glass against hers.

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