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I shook my head. “Not with you.”
“Not with me? Why not?”
“Because you disappeared,” I cried out, my voice loud enough to be heard clearly over the thumping music. “You went to Miami, and you stopped contacting me.”
“I know.” He sighed.“I know.”
“And what? Now you think you can just show up here—” I raised my hand. “It’s fine, it’s totally fine. What went on between us was only part of a larger moment in time. It was good for business, and we both benefited from it. I’m not so stupid to think that it was anything lasting.”
“Anya, please—”
“Look, this is Morgan’s night, and we’re in a nightclub. It’s hardly a good time for us to have this conversation, so let’s leave what happened between us in the past.”
This hurt to say, but I pushed onward. If it was painful now, it would only get worse if I let this frustration simmer.
“You’re busy, and I’m busy,” I added. “We capitalized on the viral video, and that’s enough. That’s the end of our story.”
“Anya—”
“Stop.” I backed away from him as the DJ moved from Diplo to Jungle. “Busy Earnin’” piped through the speakers and into the room, a fitting song for this conversation. “Let’s leave it at that.”
“I cared about you.”
I smarted at that. Past tense. Yep, I was right. My instincts never failed me.This is over. In fact, it never started. You know that’s true.
“Have a good night, Robert,” I said. “I’m sure I’ll see you around town.”
“But—”
“I wish you all the best,” I added, and while I meant those words, they were also bitter in my mouth. “I know you’re going to do a lot of great things.”
Before he could say anymore, I turned on my heel and moved back into Morgan’s group. They were a herd, welcoming me back in, but Morgan was too drunk to notice what had happened. I appreciated that. I just wanted to block it all out, to keep moving, to put the insanity of the last few weeks behind me.
“I’ll have another drink,” I told one of Morgan’s college friends, a woman I had met that night who told me they pledged Kappa Gamma Theta together. “Make it strong, please. Very strong.”
“Coming right up. All vodka, no chaser,” she confirmed and took an empty glass from the tray on the table by the couch. Once she handed the drink to me, I drained it in one swig, the sting of the alcohol traveling down my throat, erasing some of the pain.
But not enough of it.
I turned back to Morgan’s friend. “I think I’ll have another one.”
She laughed. “That was quick.”
“Thank God I’m not driving.”
Ordering a party bus to take us from the hotel to the club had been a bit of an indulgence, but now I was glad we sprang for it. Since I didn’t have to worry about driving, I could do whatever I wanted.
And what I wanted was to block out any thoughts of Robert.Looks like he’s back in New Burlington.
It’s also clear he isn’t back for me.
