Dr. Dreamy is here, and I am his faithful patient.
Nathan smiles as he holds me on the dancefloor. We’ve had a wonderful night, with great company.
“Can we go home now?” he murmurs into my ear.
“I thought you’d never ask.” I kiss him softly. “I’m going to the bathroom before we go.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you back at the table.” He kisses my cheek, and I weave my way through the tables, out into the lobby. There’s a bathroom attendant, and she opens the heavy door for me.
Wow, it’s all marble in here with large palms in matching plant pots.
I go to the bathroom and come out and wash my hands. I reapply my lipstick, and the attractive, dark-haired woman in the red dress comes out of one of the cubicles-the one who was talking to Nathan.
“Hello.” She smiles when she sees me. She washes and dries her hands. She definitely is friendly enough.
“Hi.” I smile.
“It’s a beautiful turn out, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“I love your dress. It’s Eliza, isn’t it?”
“Yes, thanks.” I smile as I roll my lipstick together on my lips. “I’m sorry, I’m terribly rude. I know we’ve met before, but I can’t recall your name.”
“Oh.” She holds her hand out to shake mine. “I’m Stephanie.”
I stare at her as my brain misfires.
What?
But he knows that Stephanie from the gym, not work.
“You go to the gym with Nathan?” I ask as a test.
“Yes.” She smiles warmly. “We work together, too. I’m a cardiovascular surgeon. We operate at the same hospitals.”
“Ah.” I fake a smile. “How wonderful.”
I stare at her beautiful face as the sky turns red. I begin to hear my furious heartbeat in my ears.
This is Stephanie?
A woman that he is friends with. A woman he works with. A beautiful woman that he trusts and knows well is who he went to… over me.
I get an image of the two of them together, kissing-her on her knees, drinking him down.
“Goodbye,” I force out.
“Lovely to see you.”
I fake a smile and storm back to the table. Nathan catches my eye, and I glare at him as I fall into my seat.
His brow furrows and he puts his hand on my thigh. “Everything all right, sweetheart?”
I flick his hand away. “Don’t touch me,” I whisper angrily.
“What?” He frowns.
“I just met Stephanie.”
His eyes widen.
I push my chair out. “I’m leaving.”
Eliza
“Goodbye.” I smile at the people around our table. “Lovely to meet you all.”
“Goodbye,” the table sings.
I fake a smile and storm toward the entrance.
I can’t believe this, I am fucking livid.
Nathan quickly shakes hands with his associates around the table-his manners not letting him leave without doing so first. I march out to the undercover entrance, and I walk straight up to a taxi and get into the back seat.
“Eliza!” Nathan calls as he runs after me. “Wait.”
“Smith Street,” I say to the driver as I slam the door behind me.
Nathan runs up and opens the back door and dives in beside me. “What are you doing?” he hisses.
I cross my arms and glare out of the window. I am not having this argument in front of a cab driver.
Nathan puts his hand on my lap and I flick it off. “Don’t you fucking dare touch me,” I growl.
He clenches his jaw and sits silently. I already know that he’s preparing his speech. The car pulls up out the front of our apartment. “Thank you,” I say as I open the door and get out. I march into the building as Nathan pays our fare. He shuffles through his wallet and throws cash at him, not waiting for the change.
I force a smile at the doorman as he opens the door for me, and I march past and hit the elevator button with force.
Nathan rushes in.
“Good evening, Mr. Mercer. Nice night.” The doorman smiles.
“Is it?” Nathan mutters as he dives into the elevator beside me.
I clutch my purse and glare straight ahead.
Nathan stands tentatively beside me, as if I’m a wild animal he doesn’t know how to control.
I cannot believe…. I cannot fucking believe that he would have the audacity to stand and talk to her in front of me, knowing full well that I had no idea who she was. What were they talking about? How hard he came down her throat?
Fuck, I’m so furious, I’m about to explode.
Nathan opens the door and I march in, heading straight to the fridge. I pour myself a drink and I stand at the sink and drain it as he watches on in silence.
“Eliza.”
“Don’t!” I growl. “Don’t you fucking dare tell me one more lie.”
He stays silent, as if unsure what to say.
I pour myself another glass of wine and take a huge gulp as a million hurtful things run through my mind. I’m so angry, I can hear my heartbeat in my ears, like a speaker echoing my pulse throughout.
“I didn’t lie to you.”
“Excuse me if I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouth.” I sneer.
He puts his hands into the pockets of his suit, his jaw clenches. “So, I know her…”
“Oh, I can see that.”
“You know….” He holds his hands up in surrender. “It was just one night. And it meant nothing, I fucking swear to you, Eliza. It meant nothing.”
“She’s your friend.” I get a lump in my throat. I feel so betrayed. My eyes well with tears.
His face falls. “Baby, don’t cry.” He pauses as he tries to get the wording right in his head. “I was as high as a kite. What would have happened if I’d have gone to you, off my face, and put that shit on you?”
“So, instead, you put it on her?” I bark.
He swallows the lump in his throat as his eyes hold mine.
“You told me that you had feelings for me but you went to her to see if your body worked with a female’s.”
“Yes.” He nods. “That’s right, I did.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. You already knew that your body worked with mine. You were hard the night before. Do not fucking dare insult my intelligence one more fucking time, Nathan,” I scream as I lose all control. “You went to her because you wanted her.”
“Calm down.”
“I will not calm down.” I throw my glass at him, and he ducks. It hits the fridge behind him and smashes on the floor.
“Just a girl from the gym. Just a girl I’ll never see again.” I shake my head in disgust. “You flirt with her all day at work, Nathan. I’ve seen it with my own fucking eyes.” My eyes nearly pop from their sockets. A thought comes to me. “Have you talked about that night with her?”
He clenches his jaw, and I know that he has.
“So, you can talk to her about it but you can’t talk to me,” I whisper through the hurt.
“Eliza….” he whispers.
“You stood there tonight and talked and laughed with her for ten minutes, with me not far away, watching on, knowing full well that I had no idea who she was. If that’s not betrayal, Nathan, I don’t know what is.”
He drops his head and closes his eyes.
I watch him as angry tears roll well in my eyes. “Tell me what happened,” I demand.
“You tell me what happened that night. I want a full description of every single fucking touch. You knocked on the door, and then what…”
“It doesn’t matter what happened!” he snaps. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“You’re wrong,” I whisper. “It does to me.”
“I didn’t want you to feel insecure,” he says calmly.
“You would rather I feel stupid?” I cry.
“No.” He gasps. “I didn’t want you to think about it again. I told you that it happened. I was honest, and it doesn’t affect us. It changes nothing.”
“It doesn’t affect you, Nathan.” My eyes hold his. “It changes everything for me.”
“Why?”
“Because my Nathan…” I point to my chest with force. “My best friend, Nathan, would never deceive me. He would talk to me and tell me all about it. He would point the girl out to me and discuss it openly. He would have nothing to hide.” I shake my head. “I don’t even know who you are as a lover.”