Page 6 of Best Served Hot
‘I’m sort of dying, if I’m honest,’ Andi confessed.
‘Come on, let’s get a shot of espresso in you before you start hearing voices telling you to burn down the scout hut.’
And off they went to get a coffee, the woman forgotten.
Alex went up to the counter to order, and when she sat back down, Andi seemed to have bumped into a friend. A woman who looked like she could do with some sleep and a shower was sitting next to Andi, telling her something.
‘Hi,’ Alex said, putting the coffees down.
The woman turned to her very slowly. She stared at Alex silently for several unnerving seconds. Alex wasn’t sure how to react. She glanced at Andi and realised her mistake. She had not interrupted a normal chitchat. Andi looked confused and angry. Something was wrong here.
‘Hello,’ the woman eventually said. ‘I’m Nicole. Though you might know me better as Ethan’s wife.’
‘Oh shit,’ Alex said sadly. ‘I’ve got your shoe.’
Five
Nicole had no idea if and when Alex Torrence was gonna show up at The Beanery on Sunday morning, so she made sure to get there bright and early. She was there before the coffee shop even opened, sat on a bench in front of its entrance, glaring at the door, willing Alex Torrence to show up and face, well, she wasn’t quite sure what just yet. Butsomething. Once again, Nicole had many ideas, and even though this time she wasn’t in shock, she still felt indecisive about the next step.
She thought she might shame Alex. She thought she might slap her. She thought she might say, ‘He’s all yours,’ and walk off with her head held high. She thought she might break down in front of her. She thought she might call the cops and tell them that Alex was stealing muffins. She thought she might watch her and say absolutely nothing. She thought she might scream the lyrics to ‘Jolene’ into her face. Her mind whirled around these plans in the hours she waited for Alex.
In the end, she decided that she’d simply have to wait and see what she did. It would be a surprise to all involved.
Eventually, Nicole spotted Alex before she got to the café, walking with another woman and a dog. They were doing laps of the park, presumably to let the dog do its business before they went to get coffee.
Nicole found herself following them at what she hoped was a safe distance. She wanted to listen to Alex’s conversation in the hopes she might hear her bragging about how she’d seduced a married man. She wanted her to be easy to hate. She didn’t think it would let Ethan off the hook. He’d made a choice. But this woman had wronged her. She deserved to feel the heat of her shitty choices, too. If Nicole could offload the worst of it, she might feel better able to deal with Ethan calmly.
But she couldn’t hear any of Alex’s chat. Worse, with every glimpse she got of Alex, she wasn’t being nearly villainous enough. Nicole wanted her to be a smirking monster, the hatefulness radiating out of her. But she couldn’t even give Nicole that. She looked… annoyingly nice.
And then her buddy with the dog started eyeing her up, and Nicole had to drop back sharpish. She was not being as subtle as she’d hoped. She hid behind an ivy shrub, regrouping. After a moment, she poked her head out to see the pair heading into the coffee shop. It was time to act, and she followed them in.
Whilst Alex headed to the counter, Nicole finally arrived at a choice. She would reveal Alex to her friend. She probably didn’t know what kind of person Alex really was. If she told the friend, it would spread. Her reputation could be ruined in mere moments. It wouldn’t be enough, but it would be something.
Nicole plonked herself at the table with the friend. ‘Hi,’ she said.
‘You. I saw you before. What’s your game?’ the woman asked sharply. She was already on guard, which threw Nicole considerably.
‘I want to tell you something about your friend over there,’ Nicole said quickly. She didn’t know how long they’d have before Alex came back and had a chance to run interference. Nicole had to get her story in fast. ‘Do you know she’s a succubus—’
‘That’s it, I’m calling someone,’ the woman said instantly. ‘You’re off your meds or something.’
‘I’m not. I’m quite sound,’ she said, but she wasn’t actually sure if that was true. She’d been on a mental hell ride for days, and she didn’t quite know where she’d landed. The only thing she knew for sure was that Alex Torrence was a bad person. ‘She slept with my husband. I think. In my house.’
The woman frowned at her. ‘Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I think you’ve got the wrong woman. She’s like the squarest, most boringly noble person I’ve ever met.’
So Alex wasn’t just a shit, but a fraud? That made sense. ‘No, you don’t know her. She’s pulled the wool over your eyes.’
‘I don’t think so. I’ve known her since we were eight.’
That broke Nicole’s stride. ‘You have?’
Before she could say anything else, a chair screeched behind her, and she turned to find herself face-to-face with Alex at last.
‘Hi,’ Alex said, all friendly, smiling with her perfect teeth.
Nicole didn’t quite know how to talk to that smile. But eventually, she found her voice and came out with something that was only semi-melodramatic, which was a miracle, given the circumstances. ‘Hello. I’m Nicole,’ she announced coldly. She saw no recognition enter Alex’s eyes, but she was undeterred. ‘Though you might know me better as Ethan’s wife.’
Alex’s smile dropped sharply. ‘Oh shit. I’ve got your shoe,’ she said.
