Page 128 of Ruthless Creatures

“Fortythousand. Which you know. Witch.”

“Hey, maybe they’ll want to do a before-and-after photo spread! Those are always fun. I think I’ve also still got a bunch of photosfrom the summer between fifth and sixth grades when your parents sent you to fat camp.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“I love you, too.”

After a moment, she raises her glass to me in a toast. “Okay. You win. I’ll just keep on thinking he’s got a dick longer than my forearm.”

I grimace. “I’d be in the hospital.”

This is when she notices the ring on my finger and freezes. She stares at it like it’s a hairy tarantula crawling up my hand. “What… is…that?”

“A ring.”

“No shit! Did you get engaged without telling me?”

I twist the interlocking bands of gold around on my finger, shaking my head. I say softly, “It’s a promise ring.”

Examining my expression, she narrows her eyes. “Was this promise a suicide pact?”

I sigh, scrub my hands over my face, then swallow a big gulp of wine. Mojo decides it’s time to go back to sleep and curls up under the table. “It’s not an engagement ring, because we can’t get engaged. He’s not allowed to marry anyone except who his boss tells him to.”

When her mouth drops open in shock, I look down at the tabletop and add miserably, “We can’t live together, either. He doesn’t think it’s safe for me. And we’re only going to be seeing each other every once in a while, when he can get away. However often that might be, which sounds like it won’t be very often.” I hesitate. “And…”

“Sweet Jesus, there’s more?”

“Yeah.” I down another swig of wine, then exhale a heavy breath. “He can’t have kids. No, that’s not it—he doesn’twantkids, so he had a vasectomy when he was younger.”

Silence.

When I glance up at her, Sloane is staring at me with the constipated look she only wears when she’s worried about me.

“What’s that face for?”

“I just hope…”

“What?”

Glancing down at her wineglass, she slowly traces her finger around the rim. Then she raises her gaze to mine and says softly, “I hope he’s worth it, babe. Because it sounds like you’re giving up a lot just to ride the guy’s dick.”

“Hey,you’rethe one who wanted me to sleep with him so badly.”

“Yeah, sleep with him. Then move on, like a normal person.”

“I told you this would happen! I told you I’d fall in love with him if I slept with him, and you laughed at me!”

“I didn’t realize your heart was located inside your vagina.”

I say bitterly, “We can’t all be as lucky as you and have a shard of ice for a heart.”

As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I regret it. I reach over and squeeze her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

She squeezes my hand back, then sighs. “It’s okay if you did. Because you’re right. But don’t think I’m lucky, because I’m not. I’m…”

She struggles to find a word, then twists her lips. “Defective.”

“You’renotdefective.”