“It might be a while. Plane tickets aren’t cheap,” she protests.
“I’ll buy your ticket. I’ve got money.” Loads of it.
“I couldn’t do that…”
“You will. Don’t protest. Two weeks. What do you think?”
“I’ll have to come on a Sunday then. Saturday is my busiest day of the week and I can’t miss it. I’ve already missed too many this summer. Like this one, and the one a couple of weeks ago when we had Caroline’s bridal shower. And I’ll miss one next week too, when Caroline gets married,” she explains.
“The day doesn’t matter. I just need you here soon,” I tell her.
“We’ll make plans.” I can hear her yawn. “But I need to go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow for sure. Good night, Eleanor.”
“Good night.”
“Sweet dreams,” I murmur.
I can tell she’s smiling. “Same to you.”
“I’ll be dreaming of your sweet pussy, so that’s guaranteed.”
She bursts out laughing. “Good night, Mitch.” She ends the call.
I fall asleep smiling.
Twenty-Two
Eleanor
I’m sweeping up hair off the floor while I’m between clients when Kelsey comes bursting into the salon, a frazzled expression on her gorgeous face. She always seems to do this, and when she does, she’s usually bringing bad news with her.
Warily, I stop what I’m doing and wait for her to say something.
“What’s your new boyfriend’s name again?” she asks.
“Um, Mitch?”
“Mitch what? What’s his full name?” She sounds very impatient.
Just hearing his name makes me feel hot inside. We’ve been talking and FaceTiming non-stop since I returned home. We’ve even naked FaceTimed, and it’s been pretty—enjoyable. He watched me touch myself, saying such encouraging, dirty words I couldn’t help but come. He liked that.
A lot.
I had a difficult time saying dirty words to him—it’s not in my wheelhouse like it is his—but I watched him jerk off, and wow, he was so rough with that thing. I thought he might yank it right off his body.
Men can be a little weird sometimes. But I really, really care about this one, and I can be weird too, so maybe we’re a perfect match.
I wish he would come with me to Caroline’s wedding. I asked him if he could, and he apologized profusely, saying he had a big work thing that he couldn’t get out of.
I told him I understood, but honestly, I was so disappointed. I want to show him off as my wedding date.
“Eleanor,” Kelsey snaps, bringing me out of my Mitch-induced thoughts.
“Mitchell Anderson,” I finally tell Kelsey as I sweep the hair into the stationary vacuum the salon has set up for us.
“Oh. My. God.” Kelsey’s eyes look like they’re ready to bug right out of her head. “Why didn’t you tell us your boyfriend plays for the Raiders?”
I gape at her. Shake my head like I’m trying to clear my ears. “What now?”
She thrusts her phone in my face. There’s Mitch. He’s wearing a Raiders jersey. Number 96. He’s got a serious expression on his face. He looks mean.
But that is definitely my Mitch.
Wearing a football jersey.
Because he’s a professional football player.
And the motherfucker…
Never.
Bothered.
To.
Tell.
ME!
I take the phone from Kelsey and start tapping, scanning the images and links Google brought up. Oh look, there’s a video of him. One of those short introduction clips they play at the beginning of a game. There he is in all of his football playing glory.
I hit play.
“Mitchell Anderson. Texas A&M.”
Serious, serious face. No smiling allowed, I guess. His hair is shorter. His face, leaner. I’m guessing it’s from a year or two ago.
But that is my Mitch. Those lips have been in very intimate places on my body, and I have heard that voice whisper crude, filthy things in my ear. Sweet, adorable things too.
That lying scumbag!
“Wait a minute. You knew, right?” Kelsey’s voice is weak. And full of worry.
Lifting my head, I meet her gaze. I’m sure she can see it written all over my face. “Uh…no?”
“That asshole!” She covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide and full of horror. “He didn’t tell you? Why would he keep such a big thing from you?”
How am I supposed to know? I’m the one he kept in the dark this entire time. “He said he worked in fitness, remember? Then he told me he trained professional athletes.” I guess that’s not exactly a lie…
Oh, who am I kidding? It’s a total lie!
“I’m so, so sorry, El. I thought you were keeping it from us on purpose, that you didn’t want us to know. I would’ve never just burst into your work and thrown something like that at you as a surprise,” Kelsey says, as if I might be angry with her, but that’s not the case. I’m not mad at all. Not at her.
But I definitely think I’m in shock.
“It’s okay,” I say as I collapse in my chair, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Yep, I am dazed and confused.
“Where is everyone?” Kelsey asks as she looks around the mostly empty salon.
“They’re done for the day. I’m waiting for my last client,” I tell her, my mind racing. Mitch lied to me. He’s a professional football player. He’s like…famous or whatever. He probably makes millions of dollars.
I’m such an idiot. Yet again duped by a man. A man who is really sexy, who made me feel really sexy, and also touched my heart.
“What are you going to do?” Kelsey settles her hand on my shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze. I tilt my head back, meeting her gaze, and I see all the sympathy there. She feels bad for me.
Same, girl. Same.
“Cut my client’s hair and go home I guess,” I say with a shrug.
She drops her hand. “You have to confront him, you know.”
“How?” I ask hopelessly. I catch my own gaze in the mirror again, and all I want to do is call myself names.
Stupid.
Gullible.
Dumb.
“Call him up and call him out, that’s how,” Kelsey says firmly. She’s always so tough. Tougher than I could ever be.
“But…” My voice drifts. So do my thoughts. I like this guy. Can I forgive him for such a big secret? Yes, I probably can. There has to be a reason he hid this from me, right? This wasn’t a trick on his part.
Right?
We spent three days together. We had sex multiple times. I repeat, multiple times. I gave everything to him. Did things I’ve never done with another man before. We talked and we laughed and we watched movies together. He brought me into his home. I cooked him food. This wasn’t some casual weekend fling.
This was real. It still is.
Maybe that’s why this revelation hurts so much.
“But what? You have to confront him, Eleanor. You can’t let him get away with this,” Kelsey stresses.