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THE OFFICE DOOR SWINGS open, and I’m surprised to see Tanaya and not Anker.
“Oh, hey, Tanaya.”
“Girl, do not ‘hey, Tanaya’ me.” She looks like she’s about ready to slay a dragon. “Did he force himself on you? Because I don’t care if he’s my boss, if he—”
I get up off the couch. “No, no. I swear. He was just trying to convince the customer I was his girlfriend.”
“Well, he did a damn fine job of that.”
I sit back down. “I can’t believe he kissed me.”
“Kissed you? That was foreplay. In public. I have never seen him so much as touch a woman before. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Well, I’m a little confused. I’ve been sitting in here by myself for twenty minutes, and I have developed questions. A lot of them.” One of them is why there are no windows in this office. Windows a girl could escape out of.
“I don’t blame you for being confused.” She joins me on the couch. “The whole bar is talking about you two now.”
I bury my face in my hands. “What are they saying?” I ask, my question muffled in my palms.
“Well, there’s speculation about how long it’s been going on. Whether or not I knew about the two of you.”
I spread my fingers and peek at her between the cracks. “I’m sure they’re saying other things. Like, ‘Does she outweigh him?’ and ‘What is he thinking?’”
“Shut up.”
“I know I’m plain and I know I’m chubby. It’s not like I delude myself about it. Heck, I even dressed up like Natalie from Facts of Life for Halloween, remember?” Pretty much all I needed was a school uniform. I am Natalie from Facts of Life.
“Well, Anker didn’t seem to have a problem with your appearance when he was mashing into your face. Damn, girl. I don’t think I’ve ever been kissed like that.”
“Not even Denton?”
“Especially not Denton.”
We both laugh, and it feels good because I’ve been incredibly tense while I’ve been sitting alone in this room trying to figure out what the hell just happened and what is going to happen next. I’m pretty sure I can never set foot in this bar again. Which is a bummer because I like it here. But I’m mortified.
“So, you need to find a new job where I can hang out while you work because I think this is going to get really awkward. Why hasn’t he come back here yet?”
“I wouldn’t let him. I told him I wanted to talk to you first. I had to fight him off at the door.” She holds up her fist. “Well, we stood outside the door, and I gave him a dirty look and he let me go first. But I think he wants to come in.”
“Is there a back door I can sneak out of?” A secret passageway maybe? I’ll take anything at this moment.
“No. You need to face the music on this anyway.”
I curl into a corner of the couch. “This is your fault. You wanted me to get out there. I got out there.”
“Not with my boss!” She stands up. “I need to get back to work. Try not to kiss anyone while I’m not looking.”
“Yeah. I don’t think he’s exactly who we had in mind for my punch card.”
“Well, you still need to get it over with, but I agree. He’s not the right choice.”
I cover my face again. “I’m going to fuck the first boy I see on campus tomorrow.”
“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” a gravelly voice growls from the direction of the door.
Anker.