TWENTY-ONE

Expectations and Realities.

Lolita curved into herself. The silence in Hayden’s wake was loud. For the longest minute, Tessa was still too shocked to speak. She stared at the door and then to Lolita, as if trying to connect the dots between her and Hayden.

“You told me that there was nothing between you too,” she started in a low voice. “Last time in your house when Jarrod caught you both in that position—”

“That was nothing, I swear! What you saw then was completely misleading!”

“Is that what you’re going to say about this time too, Lolita, that it was misleading? Will you say that I’m blind and did not witness what I just witnessed?”

Lolita pressed her hands together in a plea. “Don’t tell Jarrod, I beg you. I was drunk. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I thought it was him—”

“Don’t you fucking lie to me right now? You and I both know that you can clearly differentiate them. Is the slight color change in Hayden’s hair not a dead giveaway?”

“Not enough. I was drunk—”

“You look clea