“Which is why I like women,” Gabby replies, and a headache begins to form.
“I’m going to go,” Landon tells me.
I nod, then force a smile at Paisley. “He didn’t get any dances or anything. I promise,” I assure her. “He looked pretty uncomfortable the entire time we were there.”
She waves me off, laughing lightly. “I know. I just love playing him up.”
I lean in, giving her a one-arm hug. “I’ll catch you later.”
“See you.”
I wait for them to go before facing the assembled mob in front of me. Olivia places her hand on her hip, giving me that ‘Don’t you dare brush me off’ kind of look. “Spill.”
“Okay, if you want to know, I need cake. And coffee.”
“Then lead the way.”
I turn to Marlene, rolling my eyes when I see she’s actually paying attention for once. “I’ll be in the café if you need me.”
She shrugs, then goes back to the magazine she had been reading.
The girls follow me to the entrance to the café. This is also owned by me and I love it. It did come with a condition though: I’m not allowed to bake in here. Or for here. It’s the only way my parents and uncles would help me. Personally, I think it’s because my culinary teacher kicked me out of class for being too enthusiastic. I never got my food hygiene certificate.
I wave at Josie as I enter. “Hey, Josie.”
Her eyes widen at the entourage behind me. “Everything okay?”
I nod. “These are my friends. When you are ready, we’d like to order.”
We take the biggest table at the back of the small café and once seated, Josie takes our order.
Harriet turns to me once she leaves. “What happened?”
“He was married.” When none of them say anything, I look up, taking in all their expressions. “What?”
Emily leans over, patting my hand. “Honey, we suspected as much.”
My eyes water. “You did?”
Harriet nods. “We couldn’t say anything. We never knew for sure and you were so happy.”
“At least you didn’t lose your virginity to him,” Gabby comments.
Olivia snorts. “You’re just hoping she’ll turn gay.”
“And what?” Gabby comments, scrunching her nose up.
Flattered, I force a smile. “I’d be lucky to have you as my girlfriend, but I don’t think I’m attracted to girls like that. I mean, they’re beautiful and all, but—”
“We don’t get your vajayjay flowing,” Gabby finishes, sulking into her seat.
Josie drops the tray on the table, her cheeks flaming red. “I’ll, um, leave this here. I’ve given you some extras, but if you need anything else, just yell.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, reaching for the biggest cupcake on there. It has buttercream icing.
My favourite.
“So, what did you do with him?” Harriet asks.
Tears gather in my eyes as I shove the cake into my mouth. It’s Olivia who answers.
“Oh my God, you slept with him.”
I nod, unable to meet her gaze. “I didn’t know then. He was going to leave me and I got scared.”
“Leave you?” Emily asks, ducking her head to meet my gaze.
“He accused me of stringing him along, that I didn’t really like him otherwise I’d have slept with him already.”
“Oh my fucking God,” Emily breathes, eyes wide. “He emotionally manipulated you into it.”
“At least tell us it was worth it,” Harriet grumbles.
A choked sob escapes and I put the cupcake down. It’s probably for the best since I’ve put on a bit of weight. “It was awful. I thought it was what I wanted but it wasn’t. It hurt so much and it was uncomfortable.”
“It was your first time,” Emily soothes. “It always hurts.”
I shake my head. “I asked him to stop. It didn’t feel right. But he wouldn’t.”
“No,” Harriet whispers, her eyes glistening with tears.
“It was over quickly and I thought…” I gulp and blink back tears. “I thought it would be okay, that I was exaggerating. It wasn’t like I thought it would be. He wasn’t gentle and I… I just wanted him to stop.”
“I’ll fucking rip him a new one,” Olivia bites out. “Who the fuck does he think he is, doing this to my girl?”
“Calm down,” Gabby orders.
“You calm down. He hurt our girl.”
Harriet takes my hand, squeezing it. “He should have stopped.”
“It’s fine,” I assure her.
“It’s not okay,” she tells me, glancing at the others. “I know you struggle with socialising and understanding some concepts of emotions or acts, but, honey, what he did—”
“Don’t,” I choke out. “I’ve had my mum and the hospital say the same thing. I just want to forget it happened.”
“The hospital?”
I wipe at my cheeks, pushing the cake toward Emily when she reaches for it. “I, um, I had to go to the hospital.”
“It was that bad?” Olivia grits out. “What the fuck did he do to you?”
“I picked up his phone and saw a message from his wife. I confronted him. About it all. And it, um, it got physical.”
Oliva pushes back in her chair, getting to her feet. “He fucking hit you?” she yells.
I grimace, scanning the café. There are a few customers, one being Rose, who has just walked in, and their gazes are on us.
I duck my head. “Please, be quiet.”
She winces, sitting back down. “When I find him, I’m going to kill him,” she hisses.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not okay,” Harriet tells me. “I guess this is the reason for your absence.”
I nod, fiddling with my fingers in my lap. “I couldn't come back— not with the bruises. And I needed to recover. This is my first day back at work.”
“Why didn’t you call us?”
I glance up at the sound of the hurt in Harriet’s voice. “Because you all have lives. You are studying and trying to pay your bills.” I turn to Olivia. “You’re looking after your younger siblings.” Emily is next. “You’re working two jobs so you can take care of your grandmother and little girl.” Gabby is last. “And you’re still going through the trauma of what your last boss did.”
“That’s not how friendship works,” Gabby whispers. “You’ve been there for us.”
“Yeah, if it wasn’t for you, I’d have never passed my last assignment,” Harriet argues.
“I wouldn’t have gotten those cupcakes done if it wasn’t for you. Nell was already worried her brownies group didn’t like her,” Olivia explains, talking about her younger sibling.
“Wasn’t that the fundraiser where a lot of kids got sick?” Gabby asks.
Olivia shrugs. “Probably the burgers they had on the barbeque.”
Gabby leans forward. “And you made me feel safe at Tease.”
My forehead creases as I think back. “Wait, I knocked over a tray of drinks and then when Dave came over to investigate what had happened, I ended up kicking him in the face.”