With Every Heartbeat

Page 117

Cora showed up at my door Saturday night while I was eating supper with Ten. He’d cooked for me by ordering pizza. Even though I wasn’t hungry, I’d just bitten into my first slice of supreme when her knock came. Thinking—hoping and praying—it might be Zoey, I started to rise, but Ten waved me back down.
“I got this.”
I could tell who had come to call when he immediately started ranting. “Oh, you fucking, worthless, lying, cheating whore. How dare you show your face here? Why don’t you turn around and go back to sucking on whoever’s dick you just came from?”
I stood and moved behind him to see Cora glaring at him from the hallway. When she caught sight of me over his shoulder, her eyes lit up.
She rose onto her toes and waved. “Quinn? Hi. We need to talk.”
I shook my head and snorted, turning my face to the side. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Hear that? He doesn’t want to talk to you. Bye-bye now.” Ten began to shut the door in her face, but she slapped her palm against it and scowled at my roommate before she boldly stepped into our apartment.
“We’re going to talk,” she said.
Ten huffed out his irritation but leaned against the opened door and arched an eyebrow my way, as if waiting for me to give him permission to throw her out. But I knew how persistent Cora could be. She’d probably keep pestering me until I finally gave in and talked anyway...even though I’d already said everything I’d wanted to say to her.
It was over; how many more ways did she want me to phrase it? But it seemed easiest to just get this over with now, and let her say what she’d come to say so I wouldn’t have to deal with her any more after this.
Folding my arms over my chest, I drew out a big sigh. “Fine. Talk.”
“Stupid, noble idiot.” Ten shook his head in disappointment. “Man, I can’t believe you.”
“Well, no one asked you,” Cora snapped at him.
Stepping away from the door, he towered over her and narrowed his eyes. “The only reason you’re here is to beg him to take you back. But you’re only wasting your breath. There’s no way in hell he’s going to let your lying, faithless, whore ass anywhere near his dick ever again.”
“Ten,” I muttered with another long sigh. “Just let her talk so she’ll go away.”
For the first time, Cora looked hurt. She glanced toward me as if uncertain, which made me think Ten had been right. She’d come here to win me back.
A headache formed between my temples. I sighed and rubbed at it, wanting to be anywhere but here.
“Fine.” Ten swiped his wallet off the coffee table. “I’m out of here. Call me when the bitch is gone.” He slammed the door on his way out.
“He’s not very happy that you lied to him either,” I explained when Cora just stared at the closed door as if bewildered.
She turned to me slowly. I braced for the apology, for the tears, and maybe some pleading. I totally didn’t expect her to clear her throat and paste on a cheerful smile. “So, I’ve given you a day to adjust to the shock and get over what happened.”
My mouth fell open. Say what?
Folding my arms over my chest, I arched an eyebrow. “Oh, you did, did you?”
“Mmm hmm.” She nodded and blasted me with another grin. “I know it didn’t sit well with you, so I’ll agree to be strictly monogamous from here on out.”
I blinked.
Was she freaking delusional?
After waiting for another beat to make sure she wasn’t somehow pulling my leg, I slowly shook my head. “When did you ever think what we had was some kind of open arrangement where you could just sleep with whomever you liked?”
“Well...” I don’t think she was expecting such a direct question like that, because she faltered. “I...we never had that talk. I thought you knew—”
“No, dammit.” I stepped closer to her. Her eyes widened as she lurched a step back. “I didn’t know. Who would know that? And we didn’t have the talk because we didn’t need to have that talk. No normal couple has that kind of talk.” I was a social idiot here, and even I knew that. “Starting a relationship with someone implies monogamy.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but I held up a finger.
“And you knew that otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered to hide it from me and lie about it.”
“I only kept it quiet to spare your feelings.”
I laughed in her face. “No, you did it because you’re a lying, faithless whore...just like Ten said.”