Page 115 of Come Apart
"Where is the firm?"
"Right by the house," she responds, clearly relieved at the smooth over. "It's only a mile or two away from Lawrence and Knight, actually."
"And here I thought maybe Ryan hired you to replace me."
She smiles. "You couldn't pay me enough to do divorces all day. I don't know how you do it."
"There's something so magical about fostering a breakup. It's a beautiful thing."
She shakes her head. "Do you have a speech prepared?"
"It's hell to be stuck in a relationship you have no way out of."
Her eyes turn to the floor. "Like what?"
"Ryan and I, for example."
"Oh." She sighs in relief. Like she thought I was talking about her. "You know you're never going to outlast him. He was always the most stubborn person in our study group."
"It was a pretty close competition."
"Why stick around? If you're really serious about Alyssa... if you really do love her." There's something oddly stilted about the words.
Her attention shifts to the entrance. Her lips purse. Her eyes turn down.
I turn to where she's looking. Alyssa is standing at the entrance, and she looks divine. She's wearing a tight, black cocktail dress. Her hair and makeup are perfect.
There's no way she wore this to her meeting.
I smile. I never pegged Alyssa as the petty type, but there's something sweet about her getting dressed up. Like she's marking her turf.
I don't mind being marked.
She waves and walks over to us. No, she saunters.
"You look gorgeous," I murmur.
She smiles. "I know."
Samantha's jaw is almost hanging open. "Yes, you're much prettier than your pictures."
Alyssa turns to me. "You showed her pictures?"
I nod. "Before. We used to make fun of Ryan for bragging about his lovely girlfriend."
"Oh." Alyssa's smile fades. She takes a seat at the table and looks Samantha over. "What else did you make fun of?"
"It was Ryan we were mocking, not you," I say.
"I'm sure."
Samantha offers a smile. "That was a long time ago. And I admit I Googled you. I didn't expect to see Luke dating someone so... pretty."
Alyssa rolls her eyes. "Yes, well, that's my number one trait. The pretty actress with the great tits."
"Yes, Luke mentioned the great tits," Samantha says.
Alyssa looks at me. An of-course-you-did look. She turns back to Samantha. "If you'd like to see for yourself. I’ve done a lot of nude scenes."
