Then she hesitated. “But don’t tell anyone. On paper, Linda still has that position. No one can know.”
The guy smirked, tugging at the ribbon on her blouse. “I understand, Ma’am.”
I didn’t react. Didn’t move, just wiped my tears, deleted the car’s driving record and sat there, watching as they walked into the building like nothing had happened.
And as I drove away, I couldn’t stop wondering, when Yvonne came home tonight, would she pretend nothing happened? Or would she look at me like I was disgusting, as she said?
I still underestimated her, though. Before she even set her briefcase down, Yvonne slid an arm around me, pressing a kiss against my ear.
“I'll take you to the movies today. I saw you watching some movie review this morning.” She always noticed the little things. Used to make me feel like I mattered. Now, it just made me uneasy.
Before I could say a word, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the wardrobe. She carefully picked out a sweatshirt, draped it over my shoulders, then pulled me in for a kiss.
It all happened so fast, like she had rehearsed it. By the time I realized what was going on, I was already sitting in the passenger seat of her car. The same car she had been all over that guy in this morning.
She pulled out two tickets. Titanic. We had watched that movie so many times before, but tonight, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
The theater lights dimmed, the screen lit up and Yvonne’s phone started buzzing. She ignored it at first. Then a few minutes later, another buzz. And another.
She tried to hold off, pretending to be focused on the movie. But eventually, she gave in. I noticed the way her fingers twitched as she unlocked the screen. The way she swallowed hard. The way her whole body reacted to whatever she was reading.
Then she leaned over, voice low. “I’ll be right back.”
I just nodded, keeping my eyes on the screen. The movie played all the way through to the final song. Her seat stayed empty.
Then, my phone vibrated with a company chat notification. A new guy named Langston Shaw had sent a message. [My girlfriend wanted to take me to a movie today, but I wasn’t feeling great, so I stayed home. Maybe she threw the ticket away now.]
A few people responded, asking if he was okay.
He sent a couple of shy emojis. [All good. I messaged her and she came straight to my place. Didn't take long.]