Page 33 of Frankie and the Fed
“Hey, Olive.” She storms into the apartment as I open the door, waving her phone. “Good morning to you, too,” I mumble.
“Why did you do this? Why with Lena?”
“Huh?”
The phone is waved in front of my eyes again. I see a picture from last night’s party of Lena Castle and me.
“Oh.”
“Why did you sleep with her, Ethan? This woman will only bring trouble.”
“What are you all doing interfering with my sex life today?” I press the button on the coffee machine. “Do you want coffee?” I don’t wait for an answer and pull out a second cup for her.
“You don’t interfere with mine because there’s nothing to interfere with. Jenny and I broke up months ago. Why did you do this?”
“Why not? You know, I’m a man. I like sex.” She’s crossing the line here.
“You love Ayala.”
“Not anymore.”
“Ethan, she’ll see these pictures. Don’t you care that you’re hurting her?”
Fuck. She’s right. If Jess sent me a picture of her with another man, I would go ballistic. “We’re not together.”
“I still don’t understand why not. You obviously still love her. And the way you did it… I still can’t believe you did that to her.” Olive’s sitting on a stool at the kitchen island and straightens her long legs before taking a sip of her coffee. “You have to talk about what happened with someone. It doesn’t have to be me, but you have to talk to someone. You don’t act like yourself anymore. I worry about you. It’s like you're turned off.”
Wow, that’s a pretty accurate description of how I feel. Turned off. I didn’t think it was that noticeable. “I don’t enjoy you meddling in my business.” I turn and go to stand at the window.
First Ryan, now Olive. I’m sure they coordinated this intervention.
No one knows what happened there, nothing but what the media has put out, and I’m not going to tell them. I don’t feel like going back and picking my brain with psychologists again. They didn’t help me when I was seventeen, and they won’t help me now. But maybe she’s right. Maybe I’m not as capable of handling this alone as I thought. I guess I’ve failed again.
CHAPTER14
Ayala
“Hey, Olive.” I plug in the headset and answer the phone while walking at a fast pace. I don’t want to be late for the office. “What’s going on?”
“Sorry I didn’t get to call last week. I was busy with the new store.”
“And how is the store doing?” I cross the road, and a speeding car honks at me.
“Work in progress. There are some crises because it seems it’s impossible to do without them.” She laughs. “But we’ll open on time.”
“That’s amazing! I can’t believe it’s going to happen.”
“Would you come? I realize it’s in New York, and it’s far and all, but I want you to be there. I can buy you a ticket, and you can sleep at my place.”
“Hmmm.” I don’t know what to say. “I’m not sure I can get away from work.” Can I fly to New York?
“You don’t need to stay for very long. You can get back the next day. Please be with me at the opening. All your pep talks and ideas over the last few months have been an integral part of the store, and you just have to see it all in person. How the wallpaper you chose turned out and everything else.”
“I think you’re confused. You’re the one who encouraged me, not the other way around.” I laugh. She’s been by my side all this time, from the moment she found out that Ethan dumped me, even though she didn’t have to be there. After all, we barely knew each other.
“Okay, I’ll make an effort to come. And there’s no need for you to buy me a ticket. I have a job now.”
“I know, very important lady. Say, in connection with that, perhaps there’s a small, tiny, microscopic chance that your magazine will cover the opening?”
