perfect.â
I raised an eyebrow. âAre you still drunk?â
She rolled her eyes. âSeriously, Beth, this is what you wanted, remember? This is why you went to the club with me in the first place! One night of hot sex, no strings attached. And now, bonus! Itâs not even awkward. You donât have to give the throbbing love lance the boot. You donât have to deal with some stage five clinger, texting you desperate love poetry 24-7 until youâre forced to block him on Facebook.â She shuddered. âInstead, you can just chalk this up to a night of awesome and move on with your life.â She reached across the table, holding up her hand for a high five. âForget the roommate trophy. Iâm getting you a dirty slut one. Which, I might add, is way cooler than some silly Emmy.â
I groaned, leaning back in my chair and staring up at theceiling. âYou donât understand,â I protested. âI mean, trust me, I wish it were that simple. But itâs not. I canât just move on and forget about him. Even if I wanted to.â
Stephanie lowered her hand and narrowed her eyes. âElizabeth White. Do not
even
tell me youâve somehow managed to develop feelings for this dude after just one night.â
I closed my eyes. My mind flashed back to Mac, wrapping me into his arms. His hot breath searing my shoulder as he cuddled me close, taking care to pull the blanket up over me so I wouldnât be cold. Then I shook my head.
Donât even go there, Beth.
I turned back to my roommate. âNo. I mean I literally canât. Look.â I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out the employment letter Iâd discovered in Macâs jacket, presenting it to her. She took it from me and scanned it quickly, then looked up, confused.
âI donât understand. Whoâs Jake MacDonald?â
âMacDonald,â I emphasized. âAs in
Mac
Donald. As in, âYou can call me Macâ Donald.â
Stephanieâs jaw dropped. âHold on a second. Youâre telling me that your one-night throbbing love lance is going to be working permanently at News 9?â She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. âDid you know that before you hooked up?â
âOf course I didnât know that!â I cried, exasperated. âDo you think Iâm a moron? He left his jacket behind. I found it in his wallet.â
Stephanie pursed her full lips. âWow. Well, this changes everything.â
âNo kidding. I mean, how can I even go to work nowâknowing heâll be there? What if he goes and tells everyone what we did? What if they all think Iâm some horrible slut? God, I have half a mind to quit. âSorry Richard,ââ I quipped, making up my resignation speech to my boss on the fly, ââI know I have six months left on my contract, but I didnât take into account you hiring a guy I hooked up with. As you can guess, I couldnât possibly stay.ââ
Stephanie rolled her eyes again. âAnd they call
me
a drama queen.â She shook her head, her black hair swishing from side to side. âCome on, Beth. Letâs not overreact. I mean, God, if I quit every job where I hooked up with a fellow employee or four? Iâd be perpetually unemployed.â
I stared down into my empty coffee mug, deciding not to comment on that. While sex with strangers might be Stephanieâs typical MO, it certainly wasnât mine. Besides, what was that ugly analogy about not crapping where you eat?
But it was too late now.
Uninvited tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. This was so unfair.
âOh, sweetie.â My roommateâs expression softened. She leaned across the table, placing her hands on my shoulders and giving me a comforting squeeze. âDo not even. Youâre awesome. Heâs an asshole. He doesnât deserve even a single one of your precious tears.â
âI know,â I