Page 141 of Pick-Up
“What? Why not? You know I have no fear!”
“Well”—how do I say this delicately?—“I thought you guys boned.” Why be delicate with Stephanie? The beauty of knowing her is not having to be.
“What?! Ew! Me and Martin? Sasha! That man is thirty years older than me!”
I shrug at myself in the wall mirror. “Well, you were kind of tolerant of him on that first night.”
“You can’t be intolerant of someone you want to get to dish for a story!”
“And then the next night, you were… gone! All night.”
“Oh my God!” Stephanie is cracking up. “Derek! Derek! Come here.”
I hear Derek’s irritated “What?” faintly in the background.
“I’m talking to Sasha. She thought I slept with Martin on the trip!”
I cover my eyes though they can’t see me.
“No way!” I hear him laugh. “Well, to be fair, one never knows with you.”
“Sasha,” she says, her voice quieter. “You know I was just trying to give you space. That’s why I stayed out. Which it does not seem like you took advantage of, BTW!”
At least Ethan and I escaped without the others realizing what happened between us. “Right. I know. I appreciate the effort.”
Larry the cat wanders over to me, stops and then stares up at me like he knows I’m a liar.
“So, you were just sharing Jackie’s room that whole time?” I ask.
“Jackie! No. I was with Charlie!”
Charlie. It all starts to click into place. Derek’s discomfort at the lunch table. Charlie’s hefty appetite the next day. The subtle innuendo. Which I, of course, missed because I was too busy panicking about my own.
“Charlie. Right. Well, that makes much more sense.”
“Um, yeah.”
I’m late to the game, but I’m happy they found each other. “Ahhhh. Steph! He’ssocute.”
“Yeah, no kidding! And recently single. And not a handsy, racist, misogynist, old dude. We’re grabbing a drink tonight! The saga continues.”
I don’t know why this stops me in my tracks. “Oh, you’re still seeing Charlie now? Like back here?”
“Sure! Why not?!”
I think about Charlie and Stephanie, out somewhere in New York together. The vibe so different from those chill evenings by the beach. Could they carry what they found at Citrine into their real lives? Grab drinks and dinners at dim restaurants, wander museums, binge watch shows on their couches? What is it that’s making my words catch in my throat? Is it guilt? Recognition? Jealousy?
I realize Stephanie is kind of my hero. She truly is fearless.
“Hang on,” Stephanie says. “Derek wants to talk to you.Privately. Very intriguing. I’m going to transfer you to his office. Bye!”
“Martin. Ha!” I hear her murmur before putting me on hold.
I stand up and start pacing. Suddenly, I am flooded with nervous energy.
I wait, anxiously, for Derek to pick up. And, when he does, I amstill startled by the way his voice breaks in. What is wrong with me? Why am I so on edge?
“Sasha, hi. Great work on the video.”
