Page 52 of Desserts for Stressed People

“What?”

I shrug. “Spend the day onmy little floor, make small talk with all theartistsroaming around our plebeian offices. Use plenty of words to say very little. That type of thing.”

He shakes his head like he’s not that terrified at the prospect. “I can think of worse punishments.”

“Well, now, give me some credit. This is only what I’ve come up with on the spot.”

With a chuckle, he keeps driving toward my apartment, and silence settles again. Only, this time, I’m not that comfortable. All of a sudden, the awareness that the fun portion of the night is over grips my stomach and squeezes me. The joy of being around Shane is sucked out of me, and I can only focus on what happens next.

Nevaeh has a date to go on.

“Is everything okay?” he asks. I turn to him, terrified he’s actually reading my thoughts or something, and he observes me for a few seconds. “You looked upset for a minute.”

“I’m not,” I say, much too quickly, then I inhale deeply. “I just...I promised to meet someone tonight and I don’t feel like it.”

“I could keep you busy for a couple more hours if you’d like. Give you an excuse to get out of it.”

I think I can barely hide my surprise, because he looks away. “I can try to guess your favorite dessert. Or—err...There’s a lot of work to do. We could stop by the office.”

I peer down at my legs, but I don’t know how to react. His first proposition seems...interesting. Stopping by the office, though? He’s work-zoning me. And I’m not going to make him spend two hours at the office on a Friday night to get me out of something that I know I have to do.

“No, that’s all right,” I say. It doesn’t matter what his intention was, after all. As much as I appreciate his attempt at getting me out of tonight, this is when I get my revenge. Tonight, I’ll get to walk out of Red Cube and know I’ve repaired some of the hurt that Alex has caused me. “I need to do this.”

“Okay.” He pulls over, and I notice we’re under Emma’s apartment. “I’ll see you at the office, then.” He rests back on the seat, his body slightly turned to me.

Moving my hand to the door handle, I shoot him a quick smile. “Thank you.”

“You helped me. I’m the one who should thank you,” he says as he looks away.

“That’d be an awful waste of perfectly good words, and I know you’re all about efficiency.”

“That I am,” he confirms. “Thank you, anyway. Tonight was...less boring.”

Less boring. Hell, I’ll take it. After telling me I’m special and impressive, it’s a bit of a downer, but it’s a compliment nonetheless.“No problem. I’ll see you around the office.”

“Good night, Heaven.”

“Good night, Mr. Hassholm.”

I leave his car, careful not to show him too much of my boobs, legs, or ass, but I’m pretty sure I flash him a little. When Emma lets me in and I enter the building, I turn to him with a wave and watch him drive away.

* * *

I getout of my cab, then walk beside the Silverton Hotel and toward the bar. Once my eyes land on the “Red Cube” sign shining across the street, my heart squeezes. Alex told me he’d be playing football with his friends tonight, so this is happening. He lied to me, to meet with, well...me.

Drying my hands on my jeans, I try to relax my shoulders. I know I planned on wearing a stunning dress and leaving him wondering what the hell is wrong with him for cheating on such a hot bitch like me, but after thinking it over, I decided it might be overkill. I don’t need to impress him with my looks. First, because he’s quite familiar with them, after five years. And second, because there are much more important reasons I hope he’ll come to regret tonight.

When I reach for the door of the bar, my hands are trembling. Really, they’re shaking so hard that I’m unable to perform simple actions like sending Emma an SOS. text.

Maybe I should have let her come—she begged me to, but I refused. I thought having her here, pressuring me to go in and make a big scene, would just make me nervous, but maybe it would have made me feel a little more confident, and not having time to think would have actually played in my favor.

“Excuse me?”

I flinch when someone speaks, and I move to the left to let the girl behind me in. This is my moment—it’s now or never.

I cross the entrance and glance around. My heart is so loud in my ears I can barely hear the chattering of people inside or the music in the background. It’s all a big blur of white noise that dies under the quick and noisy thumps.

As I scout the room, I feel suspended in space and time. It’s a weird sensation, almost like the next beat will either be the most painful one yet, or the one that finally allows me some relief.