Page 8 of Kiss and Makeup
“Fine.” He huffed a great sigh and riffled through his bag for his notes.
There was an odd contradiction in our relationship during college. As his girlfriend—his sexy-glasses babe as he used to jokingly call me—I’d been his main distraction. However, I’d also definitely been the only reason he passed a single class. His distaste for studying and hard work, his love for hiding from homework that didn’t include physical activity, and skipping classes had never translated over to me. Xavier’s habits had only clashed against my 4.0 GPA and solid work ethic. Sometimes, hanging out at my dorm when I had a lot of work to do, he would finally study. He certainly couldn’t get to me, no matter how playful he felt or how tempting he was. For both our sakes, I had to be the mature one.
Xavier didn’t try. He had never tried, and he had never needed to. He’d always had it all: wealthy parents, friends in high places and a guaranteed position in a powerful company.
I understood why he acted the way he did, why he felt like he could spend all his time on sports instead of something that would take him somewhere in life—but I had never agreed with it. My small hometown in Missouri had presented me with exactly zero opportunities. To find those, I had moved to Chicago after I graduated from high school and received my acceptance letter and a scholarship to Loyola University. Where I’d met Xavier, and also where I’d learned that people who had it all didn’t realize just how much that was and what they could do with it.
Cold air crashed into my throat in the form of a sigh before I carefully stepped my high-heels into the warmth of the backseat of an Uber. A skirt might not have been the best dress option today in 30-degree weather. I enjoyed wearing them so much, though. Skirts had that feminine quality, but they also looked imposing at the same time. You couldn't go wrong with a good, professional skirt.
Besides, I had wanted to impress the representative from Cruise Media. As it turned out, I need not have tried so hard.
Emma. I just needed to snatch my smart, innocent little girl off her feet, give her a big hug, and cook some dinner instead of going out for chicken nuggets. As soon as I did that, everything would be better again, just like it had this afternoon.
Until tomorrow,I reminded myself. Until I had to smile and nod as Xavier took me through a tour. Would I be working with him closely throughout the duration of the contract with Cruise Media?
Surely not,I comforted myself. Why would the owner’s son hang around and personally oversee just another contract? He wouldn’t, so I only had to worry about tomorrow. After that, Xavier would be out of my life for good once more. It had to be that way.
It has to be that way.
