Page 16 of Strange Seduction
With one last giggle, the call ended—screens going black one by one until I was alone again. The silence hit a little harder this time.
I lay there a few moments longer, letting the post-laughter buzz settle before the stillness crept back in. My chest ached. Not in a broken heart kind of way—but in that numb, low-key disappointment that comes when expectations aren’t met.
This wasn’t the reunion I pictured.
I thought he’d sweep me into his arms the moment we stepped through the door. That he’d kiss me longer and we’d talk for hours.
Touch. Laugh. Fuck. Something.
Instead, he left for work. And maybe that made sense.
Maybe we’d both gotten so used to functioning separately that now, in the same space, we didn’t know what to do with each other.
Still, it was only the first day. We would find each other again.
I stood up, walked across the marble floors, and made a beeline for the bathroom. It was gorgeous, displaying a marble double vanity I planned to make full use of.
The shower had a floor-to-ceiling view of the city, and I loved how everything just felt open and freeing.
I turned the nob, stripped, and stepped in.
The spray of the shower calmed my nerves, but my chest wouldn’t settle. Something had been nagging at me since the elevator, and I didn’t want to discuss it in front of the girls.
The sky had turned into a dusty gradient of orange by the time I had gotten out. Hesitantly, I scrolled through my contacts and tapped Alyssa’s name.
She answered on the third ring, her face popping up with a glare and a bonnet askew. I could tell she was going to bed.
She squinted at my background. “Please tell me you’re not calling from Shower Head City.”
I blinked. “Girl, no! I was calling about Theo.”
She squinted. “Mmm-hmm.”
“I’m serious.”
She sat up then. “What’s up?”
“How’s he and your mom doing?” I rushed out. “I know they were going through a rough patch.”
“Tuh. Rough is an understatement.”
My stomach dropped. “What? Theo said they were better.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes so hard it could’ve been a seizure. “Ha! They can barely have a conversation without arguing.”
“Arguing?” I straightened. “About what?”
“You.” She said it flat, as if I should have known.
My bottom lip quivered slightly, and I couldn’t tell if it was the chill of the AC or my soul leaving my body.
“I mean… I know that.” I admitted more to myself than Alyssa. “But I’m sure there’s something else—”
“Carmen,” she cut in, holding up a hand. “Let me re-enact their last interaction for you. You ready?”
I braced myself. “Oh. Um. Okay?”
Alyssa cleared her throat, put on a theatrical frown, and changed her voice into a nasal, high-drama tone.
