release the lobby door lock. Then I paced the floor until she rang the bell outside my door. After glancing out the peephole to make sure it was her, I opened the door.
"Janine—"
"How could you?" she asked, pushing past me.
Oh hell. Shane had obviously made his lack of interest obvious and she now wanted to blame me. I closed the door and walked past her into the living room.
She followed me. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Sherlyn?"
Her tone suddenly pissed me the hell off. I turned to face her. "About what?"
"About how you stabbed me in the back with Shane Reddorn! He tried to deny it, but that must have been one hell of a dinner you two had last night. When did it end? Sometime this morning?"
"If you're implying that we spent the night together, we didn't!"
"Then why is he interested in you instead of me?"
I'd had a rough day and I just didn't feel like taking anymore shit from anyone. Her implication that no man could possibly prefer me was the end. Don had preferred me to her. As had Darkwater and clearly Shane. "Maybe because I actually have a personality and don't need anyone else to sing my praises to get a date with the man of my choice!"
She recoiled. "Are you implying I have no personality?"
"No, Janine. I'm coming right out and saying it! It's not my fault he prefers me to you. I tried to get him interested in you—"
"When? Between attempts to titillate him yourself? Every damned time he opened his mouth he found a reason to mention you. You might not have slept with him last night, but I'll bet you came pretty damned close! What did you do? Give him a blowjob?"
I sucked in a breath and stared at her. I was angry and afraid. I know I should have admitted the truth, but certain our friendship hung in the balance, I wimped out and shook my head. "I tried to steer him to you—just as I've always done when you asked me to. It's not my fault it didn't work."
She stared at me with an angry look in her eyes until she spotted Don's picture still lying in the twisted frame. "What happened?" she asked in a cool voice.
I shrugged. "Darkwater tossed it against the wall in a fit of...something."
"Oh. I see. So because you can't have him back, you thought it would be a good idea to take Shane from me?"
Her lack of empathy eroded my sympathy for her. "In order for me to have taken him from you, he had to be yours in the first place. He never was!"
"I hope you and he have a good time fucking each other over before moving onto other people! When he's finished screwing over you like Darkwater did, don't expect much sympathy from me!"
I stared at her, in shock. How could she say such hurtful things? "I don't believe you just said that—not after all we've been through together."
"Believe it," she said, turned and slammed out of my apartment.
I sank down onto the sofa and let a flood of tears stream down my cheeks before I got up and went into the kitchen. I sat pushing cold veggies and a piece of fish around on my plate just before ten p m when my visitor bell chimed again.
Oh, hell. What now? I was shocked to see Darkwater in my lobby. "What part of I'm never going to forgive you didn't you understand, Darkwater?" I asked.
"I know saying I'm sorry is inadequate, but—"
"You're damned right it is."
"But what the hell else can I say, Sherlyn?"
"Nothing. That's all I want to hear from you. Nothing."
"Really? Well, that's too damned bad because I have a lot more than that to say to you."
"Doesn't mean I'm going to listen."
"The hell it doesn't. Release the door," he said.
"No."
"Release the door or I'll do it myself."
"What?"
"I haven't changed my lock codes any more than you probably have."
"So?"
"So let me in or I'll let myself in," he said, his hand hovering over the keypad.
I’m not sure why, but it had never occurred to me to change my code after our relationship ended.
"Are you going to let me in or do I need to do it myself? Either way, I'm coming up."
And of course, I'd
"Janine—"
"How could you?" she asked, pushing past me.
Oh hell. Shane had obviously made his lack of interest obvious and she now wanted to blame me. I closed the door and walked past her into the living room.
She followed me. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Sherlyn?"
Her tone suddenly pissed me the hell off. I turned to face her. "About what?"
"About how you stabbed me in the back with Shane Reddorn! He tried to deny it, but that must have been one hell of a dinner you two had last night. When did it end? Sometime this morning?"
"If you're implying that we spent the night together, we didn't!"
"Then why is he interested in you instead of me?"
I'd had a rough day and I just didn't feel like taking anymore shit from anyone. Her implication that no man could possibly prefer me was the end. Don had preferred me to her. As had Darkwater and clearly Shane. "Maybe because I actually have a personality and don't need anyone else to sing my praises to get a date with the man of my choice!"
She recoiled. "Are you implying I have no personality?"
"No, Janine. I'm coming right out and saying it! It's not my fault he prefers me to you. I tried to get him interested in you—"
"When? Between attempts to titillate him yourself? Every damned time he opened his mouth he found a reason to mention you. You might not have slept with him last night, but I'll bet you came pretty damned close! What did you do? Give him a blowjob?"
I sucked in a breath and stared at her. I was angry and afraid. I know I should have admitted the truth, but certain our friendship hung in the balance, I wimped out and shook my head. "I tried to steer him to you—just as I've always done when you asked me to. It's not my fault it didn't work."
She stared at me with an angry look in her eyes until she spotted Don's picture still lying in the twisted frame. "What happened?" she asked in a cool voice.
I shrugged. "Darkwater tossed it against the wall in a fit of...something."
"Oh. I see. So because you can't have him back, you thought it would be a good idea to take Shane from me?"
Her lack of empathy eroded my sympathy for her. "In order for me to have taken him from you, he had to be yours in the first place. He never was!"
"I hope you and he have a good time fucking each other over before moving onto other people! When he's finished screwing over you like Darkwater did, don't expect much sympathy from me!"
I stared at her, in shock. How could she say such hurtful things? "I don't believe you just said that—not after all we've been through together."
"Believe it," she said, turned and slammed out of my apartment.
I sank down onto the sofa and let a flood of tears stream down my cheeks before I got up and went into the kitchen. I sat pushing cold veggies and a piece of fish around on my plate just before ten p m when my visitor bell chimed again.
Oh, hell. What now? I was shocked to see Darkwater in my lobby. "What part of I'm never going to forgive you didn't you understand, Darkwater?" I asked.
"I know saying I'm sorry is inadequate, but—"
"You're damned right it is."
"But what the hell else can I say, Sherlyn?"
"Nothing. That's all I want to hear from you. Nothing."
"Really? Well, that's too damned bad because I have a lot more than that to say to you."
"Doesn't mean I'm going to listen."
"The hell it doesn't. Release the door," he said.
"No."
"Release the door or I'll do it myself."
"What?"
"I haven't changed my lock codes any more than you probably have."
"So?"
"So let me in or I'll let myself in," he said, his hand hovering over the keypad.
I’m not sure why, but it had never occurred to me to change my code after our relationship ended.
"Are you going to let me in or do I need to do it myself? Either way, I'm coming up."
And of course, I'd
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