Page 74 of The Lessons

One ring. Two rings. Three ring—

“Hey,” he said softly. “Hang on a second. Let me get somewhere private.”

“Sure.” As I waited, I pictured him ducking through the office toward one of the unoccupied conference rooms. The IT guys didn’t have private offices.

Finally, after a few moments of static, he came back on the line. “Natalie, hey.”

“Hey,” I started, suddenly unsure of what I was going to say. “Um, listen, I’m sorry I had to leave on Satur—”

“It’s fine,” he interrupted.

“No, it’s not. I feel bad. Listen, I’d like to make it up to you.”

“That’s not necessary.” The normal warmth in his voice was gone, replaced with something cool and impersonal.

“Brad, is everything okay? You seem…off.”

He sighed audibly. “Look, Nat, I was thinking. You know, you andI?we shouldn’t really see each other. I mean, well…” he trailed off.

“Look,” I sighed. “I know you probably saw the pictures. But Brad, you have to know that wasn’t me.”

“No, Natalie. I—I mean yes, I saw the pictures, but that’s not it.” He took a deep enough breath that I could hear it over the phone. “Christ, I wasn’t supposed to say anything.”

Ah-ha! So there was something besides the pictures! Strangely, I was instantly relieved. “What is it, Brad? Just spit it out.”

He took another deep breath, and then the words I’d hoped never to hear from anyone came tumbling out of his mouth.

“It’s Ryan; he told me about your…relationship.”

Chapter Twenty-three

Natalie

I don’t quite remember what happened next. I do remember hanging up on Brad. The next thing I knew, I was on the steps of Ryan’s giant-fucking-mansion, banging on his door.

Loudly.

There might have been some yelling.

And some expletives.

Definitely some expletives.

But I was fuming. Like, stark-raving, crazy-eyes, veins-bugging-out mad. You know that term ‘out-of-body-experience’? I had the distinct notion at one point that I wasn’t thinking straight, but I chose to ignore it.

Yeah.

My throat was raw, but there was a motorcycle in the driveway and lights were on inside. He was definitely home. Why the hell wasn’t he answering me? Did he actually think he’d get away with this? That he could just hide and I’d forget?

After what seemed like an eternity, the door flew open. Standing in front me was Ryan Andrews, wet and naked, a towel wrapped low around his hips. For a split-second, I lost my train of thought. No man should be allowed to look that good naked without an attached warning label.

“Natalie? Whoa, whoa, Natalie, what’s wrong?” He appeared alarmed.

I stood there for a few moments, stunned by the visual in front of me, but eventually remembered why I was standing on his steps.

“Youtoldhim?” I screamed, gesticulating wildly.

Ryan furrowed his brow and pulled me inside. “Natalie, get in here. I could hear you from my bathroom, and I don’t even have my hearing aid in. The neighbors are going to complain if you don’t keep it down.”

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