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His sharp gaze flicked up to meet mine. Jeremy had an eye for lies and unspoken truths. He knew how to catch people in them, and he was fast about it. It was irritating, having a best friend who knew your past and could almost read your mind.
But not everything on my mind. If he could, he’d be disgusted and enraged by now, I knew. He couldn’t stay in the same room with me if he knew that when my mind wandered these days, it wandered to sweet Delia’s body under mine, the whispered truths we’d told each other in the closet and in my bedroom.
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You know, you can talk to me. I can tell something’s wrong.”
I grunted, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “That’s rich coming from you.” I saw something in Jeremy’s eyes flicker, and I knew my projection had landed on something partially true.
I leaned forward and asked, “When’s the last time you talked to me? Or is this just a one-way street? Do you get off on being the helper?”
“Hey, easy there, soldier,” he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. I winced, and he said, “Sorry, poor choice of words.”
Before the conversation could veer into dangerous territory, my phone buzzed on the table. I glanced at the screen and frowned.It was an email from one of my instructors. I unlocked the phone and scanned the message, my jaw tightening as I read the words.
“What is it?” Jeremy asked, his tone casual but curious.
“My self-defense classes,” I muttered, my stomach twisting. “One of the instructors is harassing the women after his sessions.”
Jeremy’s expression darkened, and he leaned forward slightly. “What kind of harassment?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s enough that someone complained.” My voice was tight, anger simmering just below the surface. “And, of course, it’s happening on days I’m not there. Whoever it is knows that I’d put an end to it my way.”
Jeremy’s eyebrows lifted at my verbiage, but he didn’t argue. He knew it was true. I’d knock out any man bold enough to make people uncomfortable atmyclasses. Classes about women’s empowerment.What a fucking monster.
“What are you going to do?” he asked, his tone calm but edged with concern.
“I’m shutting it down for now,” I said, already typing out a response to the instructor and the woman who’d emailed me, someone quiet whose name I didn’t even recognize. “Nobody should feel unsafe in those classes. That’s the whole damn point.”
Jeremy nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Of course.” He looked on as I continued to type. “Let me know if you need help. I could talk to them, if that would help.”
I glanced at him, surprised by the offer. “Talk to who?” I asked, tilting my head.
“To whoever came forward. I’m a therapist. I’m pretty good at getting things out of people,” he said, as though it was obvious what he had been suggesting.
I blinked, then shook my head. “Thanks, but I’ll handle it.”
He shrugged, picking up his tea again. “Suit yourself. But this kind of thing—it can stick with people. Don’t underestimate the damage it can do.”
His words lingered as I hit send on the email, my fingers hovering over the screen for a moment. I’d asked the woman if she’d be willing to name the instructor responsible, but I already knew what the answer would be. Fear kept people silent. I understood that better than most.
I wondered what Jeremy was insinuating – that people might stop coming to my classes? That these women would be permanently damaged by this?
“Um, I’m sorry Jeremy, but I need to take care of this. Just get me the, uh, the burger,” I said, standing up.
“What burger?” he called after me, his hands planted on the menu.
“Whatever!” I shouted back, heading outside.
I stood under the awning as the rain poured, tapping the vinyl fabric aggressively.
I looked through the window at Jeremy. He was holding his head in his hands, no doubt worried for me and the future of the self-defense classes.
I pulled out my phone and looked through my contacts for Delia, whose number I hadn’t yet used. It felt strange to call her, like our meetings had all been chance and now I was disrupting fate.
She answered as the waiter walked up to Jeremy. I turned around with my back against the window, looking out at the onslaught of water coming down in sheets.
“Hello?” Delia’s voice was soft and slightly breathless like she’d been running.
“Delia, it’s Robert.”