Page 100 of Not In The Contract

“Fuck off or I’ll bite you.”

“Okay, puppy.” Tamera chortled, sitting next to me despite my warning. “What’s got you so irate this early in the evening?”

I sighed and flicked the straw away from me, watching it spin around the rim of my empty glass.

The bar was much quieter than usual, the patronage limited to those of us who visited most often. That was perfect for me because I hadn’t wanted to be surrounded by drunk strangers. I just wantedout.

“It’s her sister.”

Tamera slid a plate of fries over to me and I grabbed a particularly long one, stabbed the ketchup with it and stuffed it into my mouth.

“What has she done?” Tamera asked, leaning forward to pull my barstool closer to hers.

“Appeared?” I sneered, the sarcasm stinging my own tongue. “I’d gotten used to spending time with Alex and being able to talk to her, and now I have this concrete barrier blocking every conversation.”

“There’s a cock-block joke in there somewhere,” Tamera said seriously, and I groaned, dropping my head into my folded arms on the bar counter. It was sticky but I didn’t care.

I couldn’t deny that I’d been put out with Jamie’s sudden reappearance. I’d hoped to spend more time with Alex, and instead all I got was an icy glare and the view of Jamie’s back as she hauled Alex off.

“Why doesn’t Alex just tell her to fuck off?” Tamera asked. “She’s got to be getting tired of her sister by now.”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” I scoffed unhappily. “But she goes along with whatever Jamie wants, and I know damn well that I’m being selfish and childish about it, but I can’t help it. She’s not mine, and she definitely doesn’t owe me a damn thing but…”

“It hurts?”

“A little, I guess,” I confessed. “I didn’t think we’d start dating or anything. I’m not exactly a believer in the rags to riches trope, and our relationship until now has been purely transactional. And yet, I’m jealous as much as I am frustrated.”

“Why would the frustration and jealousy be separate?” Tamera frowned, taking a sip of her water.

“The frustration is for Alex,” I explained. “How she feels that she’sobligatedto fulfill her sister’s wishes. That’s toxic and it’s bullshit. The jealousy is selfish.”

“So, you really do have feelings for her?”

“Obviously, Tam,” I mumbled. “Otherwise, I’d be back in that room writing my thesis. Not at a bar wishing I’d ordered a Jack instead of a soda, talking about the woman I want.”

“We do make a strange pair.” She giggled, pointing at our obviously non-alcoholic drinks. “Have you considered talking to her about these feelings of yours?”

“Have you considered asking Katya to be exclusive?”

“Touche and ouch.”

“Sorry,” I grumbled. “It’s just been a long week and I feel like all the time I have left is careening past me with no way to stop it.”

“Yeah, you have a few weeks left,” Tamera acknowledged, sipping at her water again, her gaze somewhere distant. “What’s going to happen after that? Once your time is up and you move back home?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, and it was what scared me most. “I’m going to have to go back to my life pretending that I never met her, I guess. Or she’ll be a stubborn fixture in my life.”

“What do you mean?”

“She offered to help me with work after school.” I sighed.

“Like, work for her?”

“God, no, could you imagine?” I scoffed. “No, she offered to help me figure out what it is I want to do.”

“How does she intend to do that?” Tamera giggled. “Is she going to buy you a job?”

“You’re mean when you’re sober,” I hissed. “And no, she’s not going to buy me a job. She said she has resources that I could use. Maybe meet some people in her network to see if there’s somewhere I fit in. I’m not super optimistic, but it’s better than what I had in mind.”