IT WAS DARK when my eyes fluttered open. I patted the space next to me but it was empty. I slowly sat up and flicked on my lamp to see James was nowhere in sight. I got out of bed and picked up the first article of clothing I could find, which happened to be his button-up shirt, and I slipped it over me. I walked out of my room and tiptoed down the stairs when I heard a faint voice. I caught sight of the back of James, so I ducked down on the staircase as I listened in on his conversation.
"I know, but I just can't right now," he said, already making me confused.
Who was even calling him so late at night?
"We're finally in a good place and I don't want to risk it, Lay."
Of course, it was the she-devil herself.
James let out a sigh. "I don't know, Leila. Dani will be heartbroken when she finds out the truth."
I felt my heart hammer against my chest, but I slowly crept back up the stairs and to my bedroom before I could be spotted. I jumped under my covers and turned my lamp off, pretending to be asleep. I heard James enter my bedroom a few minutes later, feeling the bed move as he lay down.
"You awake?" he whispered.
Damn me and my horrible acting.
"I just got up," I lied. "Where'd you go?"
"I went downstairs to get some water." Also a lie. "Go back to bed." He kissed my cheek before getting comfortable. My bedroom was soon filled with the gentle sounds of his snores.
I didn't sleep a wink that night.
~*~
It felt like I had just fallen asleep by the time morning rolled around. I let out a soft groan as I turned around, opening my eyes to find James looking back at me.
"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted with his adorable dimpled smile. Curse that smile.
James put his arm over me, but I turned the other way.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm not in the mood," I answered.
"I bet I could get you in the mood," he teased.
"I'd prefer to be left alone actually."
"Sure, okay." I heard him get up. "You alright?"
"I will be once I'm left alone."
"Can I have my shirt back?"
"Can you wear another one?" I didn't mean for my tone to come across that snippy, but James didn't seem to mind it as he got dressed. He took another one of his many shirts from my closet and wore it instead. He came back to me and kissed my cheek before saying, "I'll talk to you later."
I didn't reply, instead choosing to catch up on sleep.
The rest of my day was basically spent the same. Aside from putting on clothes and brushing my teeth, I had spent the day in bed, not feeling up for doing anything.
Brenton had definitely noticed when he showed up in my bedroom later that evening. "Get up, it's time to eat."
"Shut up, and go away."
"Dani, Dani, Dani," he said in a parenting tone. "It's okay, it's not a big deal."
I instantly sat up in my bed. How did he know? Had James told him? "What the hell do you mean it's not a big deal?" If what I heard was true and James was cheating on me, yes, that was a massive deal.
"Come on, you can't tell me you didn't see it coming," he added. "Jealousy is a scary disease."
"You're blaming this on jealousy?" I couldn't believe him! That was no excuse at all.
"Chill, no one got hurt."
"How can you say that?" I cried. My own brother, my alleged best friend, had the audacity to say that to my face?
His eyes widened from my outburst. "It's okay, I talked to Dad and he's fine. He was bracing for an outburst, though I think we're all surprised it was from Adam of all people."
Oh. We weren't talking about the same thing.
"Is that why you were upset?" he prodded.
I shook my head. "You know what? I'm starving, let's go get food."
It was just the two of us at home, so Brenton decided we should go to the café. He had invited Holden too, who wasn't working today, and he met us there. We were seated at a table, finishing up our drinks as we waited for our food when a woman approached our table.
"Hey," she said to Brenton, twirling a lock of hair in her fingers.
He smirked at Holden before turning his attention to her. "What's up?"
"My friends and I think you're really cute." She pointed at a table across the diner with a bunch of bimbos who looked just like her. "Want to join us?"
Brenton tried to come across as uninterested but Holden and I, both, could tell he was excited. "Sure, I guess." He followed her to her table, an extra hop in his step like a giddy little kid.
Holden took a sip from his root beer float. "And then there were two."
I didn't say anything as I fiddled with the straw of my milkshake.
"What's wrong, Parker?"
I pushed the drink away from me, losing my appetite. "I think James is cheating on me."
"Again?"
I shot him a dirty look.
"I don't mean he's cheating again," he clarified. "But you think so?"
I told Holden about the phone call I had overheard last night and how James never brought it up again.
"I'm sure there's a logical explanation," Holden reasoned.
"Yeah, it's that he's cheating," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
He shook his head in disapproval. "I swear your mind goes to the worst possible scenarios sometimes.
I scowled at him. "No, Holden, the worst possible scenario would be he was talking to a hitman hired to bludgeon you to death, chop up your body into pieces, put them in the meat grinder at the back, and feed it to everyone who orders a burger from here."
"Okay, no more sugar for you." He moved my milkshake out of my grasp.
"I'm serious," I whined, putting my head in my hands. "What do I do?"
"You want my advice?" he asked in a firm tone.
"Yes!" I said exasperatedly.
He peered over his shoulders and lowered his voice before speaking. "It's simple. You need to run away, change your name, get facial reconstructive surgery, and start a new life in Saskatoon. I know a guy who can hook you up."
"I'm serious, Holden."
He laughed. "Just ask him."
I looked at him as if he were insane. "You want me to ask my boyfriend of three years whether or not he's cheating on me with his best friend?"
He gave me a thumbs-up. "See? You even formulated the sentence. Now all you have to do is say it to him."
"You're hopeless." I stood up, ready to leave, but Holden also got up and grabbed my arm before I could go.
"Dani, wait."
I turned around and bumped into his chest. He reached out to steady me, his hands around me for a second too long.
"If I were in the doc's shoes, I'd want you to talk to me before making any rash decisions." With every word he said, I felt his breath on my face and neck.
I cleared my throat and took a step back. "I should go, but thanks."
I walked out of the diner as quickly as I could, not turning back once to see Holden's face.
~*~
The next day I was at James' apartment. He had studying to do while I had some council reports to type up so we decided to have a cute work date in his apartment. I was moving on to my last report of the night when I decided to take a break. I closed my laptop and walked up to James, who was working at his desk.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Shoot."
I closed his textbook, prompting him to raise his eyebrows.
"I like where this is going." He took his glasses off and pulled me on top of his lap. "What's up?"
"Promise you won't get mad?"
He laughed at that. "There's very little you could do wrong right now."
I took in a deep breath. Here went nothing. "Are you cheating on me?"
His face instantly dropped.
"You can't get mad," I reminded him.
"I'm not mad." Phew. "I'm disappointed." Oh. "Where's this coming from?"
I admitted to eavesdropping on his phone call the other day.
He snapped his fingers. "I knew you were listening!"
"Anyway..." I drawled. "Are you?"
James chuckled so I smacked his arm. "Hey, I didn't even answer yet."
"Then why are you laughing?"
"Because my girlfriend is such a cynic." He paused. "No, I am not cheating on you, nor would I ever."
"What was the phone call with Leila about?" I asked, not fully satisfied with his response.
"Nothing."
"What happened to no more secrets?"
He leaned back in his desk chair. "I guess I should tell you before you assume the worst... again." He took in a breath. "Remember how your mom's been helping me out with school?"
Where was he going with this?
"She's a pretty damn good reference, and with her help, I applied to some medical schools for an early acceptance."
I nodded, waiting for the scandalous part.
"Leila was only the first to find out because the letter was accidentally put into her mailbox at work instead of mine," he disclosed. "But I got in."
"Oh my God." I stopped to register everything he had just said. "Oh my God!" I pulled his face to mine and kissed him. "You got in! James, you got in! I'm so proud of you!" He opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it. "What are we doing inside? We should be celebrating!"
"Honestly, there's no need..."
"Are you crazy? You got into med freaking school!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. When we broke apart, I kissed him again, letting my lips linger longer. I opened my mouth wider, granting him entrance to slip his tongue inside as our kiss got steamier.
"Wait," James said as he pulled away. "Dani..."
"Are you going to bore me with the details or let your very loving and proud girlfriend give you a congratulatory gift?" I didn't wait for a response as I knelt down in front of him and unzipped his jeans. When he took in a sharp breath I gave him the best innocent smile I could muster. "Want me to stop?"
He shook his head. "I'm just hoping you locked the front door."
~*~
I was sprawled across James' lap, the only thing covering me being his blanket. I was resting on my stomach as he traced his finger on my bare back. My super romantic boyfriend thought it'd be fun for him to draw symbols from the periodic table of elements while I had to guess the element's name.
"Magnesium?"
He clicked his tongue. "Wrong."
"But it's Mn. Magnesium has an m and an n," I argued.
"Magnesium is Mg."
"So what is this?"
"Manganese."
"Who the hell even knows this stuff?" I grumbled.
I felt his laugh reverberate through my body. "How did you pass high school chemistry without me?"
"Shut up."
"How about you make me?"
I grinned as I got up and kissed him. James pulled me onto him as he deepened the kiss, his hands roaming all over my body.
"I'm so proud of you," I told him genuinely, resting my forehead against his. "I can't believe you were scared to tell me."
He laughed nervously. "Yeah..."
That was enough to snap me out of my loved-up daze. "What are you not telling me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I know that tone, so spit it out."
He ran a hand through his curly hair. "It's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time."
I frowned. "You can tell me anything, just let it out."
"We won't be able to see each other as much because of the distance."
"Well, duh," I deadpanned. "I know Penbrooke Med is far, but we'll make it work as we've already been doing. Besides, we have weekends and holidays, and I can drive up once I get my licence." Seriously, I needed to get on that.
"You won't be able to do spontaneous visits," he said dejectedly.
I let out a quiet chuckle, looping my arms around his neck. "Right, because you'll be super busy, mister hotshot doctor."
"Dani, you should really let me finish..."
My hands dropped by my side and I raised my eyebrows as I waited for him to continue.
"I'm going to med school," he said slowly. "In Australia."