Page 37 of Damon

“Fine.” That one word came out sharp and clipped. “After the wedding you won’t owe me a damn thing.”

His entire demeanor had changed. The shift in his energy was palpable. As he stood up and gathered his dishes, there was a stiffness to him I didn’t usually see. After stacking his dishes in the dishwasher, he headed straight for the door.

I sat there feeling awkward, not sure if I should follow. I hadn’t expected my request to piss him off this much.

The apartment door opened. His voice was low and thick with restrained anger. “I’ll call you.”

Then he was gone. I sat alone at the kitchen table, staring at the food left on my plate. My appetite had vanished.

Why was he so upset? How could the arrangement mean that much to him? An unpleasant sensation settled in my stomach. There’s no way a guy like Damon would have started to form actual feelings for me. Right?

I refused to entertain the thought. He didn’t seem like the type to get attached. If anything, I would have expected him to keep his distance. Be more standoffish.

There was no space in my head for this today. Later this afternoon I would be meeting my mother and a friend of hers for lunch. A woman who worked for a school in a neighboring city. This was a good opportunity for me to get my foot in the door.

So why didn’t I feel more excited about it? How come all I could think about was the way Damon just walked out of here?

Several hours later I sat at a table with my mother and her friend, Judith. I didn’t feel any better. Judith was super nice, telling me all about the elementary school where she worked. I did my best to smile along, offering commentary where it felt appropriate, asking the right questions.

“I think the kids would love you,” Judith gushed, patting my arm. “And you’ll actually have the energy to keep up with them being so young yourself.”

Both Judith and my mother laughed at that, making jokes about how they were too old to keep up with elementary school children. I laughed along with them, even though I didn’t relate. My enthusiasm was seriously lacking today.

When Judith excused herself to the restroom, my mother turned to me. “What is wrong with you today? You seem off. Do you not want this job?”

My mom and I had been relatively close as I grew up, although I certainly didn’t tell her everything. Of course she could see right through me.

“It sounds great. Really. I had a long night and I’m tired. I’m sorry.” Even though I told myself I shouldn’t, I slipped my phone from my pocket, placing it on my lap.

Several times I started to type a text to Damon and then stopped. What would I even say?

Finally, I settled for: Maybe I shouldn’t come to the wedding after all.

Judith was on her way back to the table when Damon’s reply came through. I did my best to sneak a peek at it without being obvious.

Do you really want to play this game with me? Don’t fuck with me, Athena.

I wanted to fire a retort back at him but had to put my phone away. I didn’t want to look like a rude jerk in front of Judith. Damn him. Why did he have to be so confusing?

Somehow I managed to fumble my way through the rest of our lunch meeting. Judith seemed to like me. She promised to be in touch closer to the start of the new school year. She felt confident she could get me hired on as a teacher’s assistant, someone to work with the teachers and help lighten their load.

That should’ve been great news. Exactly what I wanted to hear. Instead, I felt this sinking sensation. Dread pooled in my middle.

Outside in the parking lot after Judith had driven away, my mom asked me again if something was wrong. I assured her that I was fine and simply needed to go to bed early for a change.

“Time to break out of this college mentality, Athena,” Mom scolded. “You’ll be getting up early once you start working.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mom. I can handle it.” I waved off her concerns. I didn’t need the lecture.

What I needed was to talk to one of my best friends. The one who I thought may understand my situation the best. After giving Mom a hug and getting into my car, I promptly called Codie.

“Please tell me you can meet up. I need to talk.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ATHENA

“What’s going on? I’m not sure I like this.” Codie waved a hand to indicate the expression I wore.