Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Trina
“I don’t want to cancel tomorrow,” I say to Callie. “I already said I’d be there and, honestly, I want to hear what he has to say.”
“What if he asks you to move back? What are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know,” I say, although my first thought was yes, I’d love to move back. I’m living in a closet-sized apartment and sleeping on the floor. But I can’t use that as a reason to move back in with Asher.
“Trina, think about what he did. Do you really want to be with him after that?”
“Okay, yeah, he shouldn’t broken up with me like that, but it’s not like he cheated. He just wants to focus on his career. Maybe now that he’s had time to think, he’s realized he can have a wife and a career. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.”
Callie lets out a frustrated sigh. “Please don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Go back to him, two days after he kicked you out on the street. At least take some time to think about it. And whatever he says, and no matter how good he looks, do not sleep with him. Promise me that, Trina. Promise me you will not sleep with him.”
“I’m not going to sleep with him,” I say, like she’s crazy for even thinking that.
“You didn’t promise.”
“Fine. I promise I won’t sleep with Asher tomorrow.”
“Why are you limiting it to tomorrow? It shouldn’t be happening at all. Ever. For the remainder of time.”
“Well, if we did get back together, which I’m not saying will happen, but if we did, we’d obviously have sex again.”
“I don’t think you should be seeing him this soon. You’re still in love with him. You’re still imagining your wedding, thinking it might happen.”
“That’s not true,” I insist. “Asher made it very clear he doesn’t want that.”
“Then what does he want? To just have you be his girlfriend again? What if that’s it? What if he tells you he doesn’t want to get married but wants to keep dating? Would you do it?”
I pause to consider that.
“Trina, do you seriously need to think about this? The answer should’ve been an immediate no. You’d be going backwards in your relationship. And being someone’s girlfriend for years isn’t what you want. You want to get married. You’ve been talking about it since we met.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind. Maybe marriage isn’t right for me. It’s not for everyone. Scott’s never getting married and he seems perfectly happy with his decision.”
“Scott? Your neighbor?”
“Yeah, he took me out for brunch this morning and we were talking about relationships.”
“He took you out?” She pauses. “How old is this guy?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“Is he single?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Are you sure this wasn’t a date?”
I laugh. “No. He doesn’t date. Well, he dates, but he keeps it casual, if you know what I mean. He has no interest in getting serious with a girl.”
“Why did he take you out?”
“He said he wanted to get to know me since we’re neighbors. Oh, and guess what? He’s from Milwaukee. A fellow Midwesterner.”
“What’s he like?”
“I haven’t decided. At first, I thought he was a jerk because he had this really loud party and wouldn’t move his stuff out of the hall when I was moving in. But he gave me a bed and took me out to eat, so that was nice.”
“He gave you a bed?”
“An inflatable pool float, but it’s one of those really nice ones with a built-in head rest.”
“Why would he have a pool float? Is there a pool in your building?”
“No, and now that you say that, it is kind of weird.” I pause, my mind going back to last night when Scott was buying all that whipped cream. You wouldn’t want that getting all over your sheets or your mattress. “Oh my God!” I jump up from the pool float and kick it away.
“What’s wrong?” Callie says.
“I think I know why he has a pool float.”
I tell her about last night, about Scott and Bridget and the whipped cream.
“I don’t think your neighbor would give you something he had sex on,” Callie says.
“Why wouldn’t he? He’s a guy. Guys don’t think about germs or… bodily fluids.” I shudder. “Oh, God, I can’t believe I slept on that last night and have been sitting on it for most of today. I’m going to have to shower again.”
“Does it look new, or like it’s been used?”
“It’s hard to tell,” I say, staring at it. “I guess it kind of looks new.”
“Then it probably is.”
“Or he has several and rotates them between girls so they don’t wear out.”
“I don’t think that’s happening. Is he really with that many girls?”
“I’m sure he is. He’s really hot. Like a million times hotter than Asher.”
“So your really hot neighbor took you out this morning, but it wasn’t a date.”
“No. Absolutely not. Trust me, I’m not his type. That girl he was with last night was gorgeous.”
“Yeah? So are you.”
“Not like her. He said they used to date. I’m guessing they’ll get back together.”
“You said he didn’t want to be in a relationship.”
“They can be together without being in a relationship.” I stare down at the pool float. “I gotta get this thing out of my apartment.”
“I really don’t think he had sex on it.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just knowing he might have means it has to go.”
“So you’re just going to sleep on the floor?”
“It’s better than sleeping on that sex float!”
She laughs. “Why don’t you just ask him if he had sex on it?”
“I’m not doing that! Even if I did, he’d probably lie.”
“Hey, hold on. I’ll ask Nash.”
“Ask him what?”
“Nash, I have a question for you.”
“What is it?” I hear him say in his deep voice.
“Trina, I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Callie, no! Don’t—”
“So, Nash, assuming you were single, would you have sex on a pool float in your apartment?”
“Trina’s asking this?” Nash says.
“No!” I say. “It has nothing to do with me. It’s about a guy I know. And Callie wasn’t supposed to ask you this, so feel free not to answer.”
“Why a pool float?” Nash says. “Why wouldn’t I just have sex in a bed?”
“There’s whipped cream involved,” Callie says, trying not to laugh.
“Oh. Well, then yeah. The pool float’s a good idea. Keeps the bed clean.”
“You might be right, Trina,” Callie says. “It’s possible he had sex on that thing.”
“That’s so disgusting,” I say, shuddering.
“Who are we talking about?” Nash says.
“My neighbor gave me a pool float,” I explain. “And I slept on it!”
“I’m sure he cleaned it off,” Nash says, like that makes it less disgusting.
“See what I mean, Callie?” I say. “Guys don’t care about germs. They don’t even think about it! Scott probably wiped it down with a paper towel and called it good. I have to get this thing out of my apartment. Can we talk later?”
“Yeah,” Callie says. “Let me know what happens.”
“Good talking to you, Trina,” Nash says.
“You too. Bye!” I put my phone down and search for something to cover my hands. I find a pair of winter gloves, put them on, then walk over to the door and open it all the way. I go over to the pool float and slide it out of my apartment and down the hall to Scott’s, trying to keep my body from touching it.
I knock a few times. “Scott? Are you in there?”
He doesn’t answer and I don’t hear him walking around. He must not be home. I’ll just have to leave it in the hallway.
As I turn to go back to my apartment, I hear Scott say, “What’s this?”
Turning back, I see Scott and Cole in the hallway next to the pool float.
“I’m giving it back,” I say.
“Why? I thought you needed it.”
“I don’t. You can have it back.”
“Did you get a mattress?”
“No.”
“So you’d rather sleep on the floor?”
“Yes,” I say, not wanting to explain why I don’t want the pool float, especially in front of his friend, although I’m sure he knows why Scott has it. Cole probably has one too.
“That doesn’t make sense.” Scott walks over to me. “The pool float isn’t anything great, but it’s better than sleeping on the floor.”
“I’d prefer the floor.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“What’s going on here?” Scott says. “Just tell me.”
“Maybe it sprung a leak.” Cole picks up the pool float. “Seems fully inflated.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Scott asks. “Why are you giving it back?”
“Because it’s a sex float,” I blurt out.
“A what ?”
“You heard me.” I glare at Scott, who looks confused. Maybe he didn’t hear me.
“I think she called it a sex float,” Cole says. “What the hell is a sex float?”
“It’s a pool float you have sex on,” I say, glancing at Cole before looking back at Scott. “Sex that involves whipped cream that could ruin your mattress if you did it in a bed.”
“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Cole says to Scott. “Who’s having sex on a pool float?”
“He is!” I point at Scott. “And then he gave me that disgusting thing to sleep on!”
Scott smiles a little. “You think I had sex on the pool float? And then gave it to you to sleep on?”
“Yes, which is completely disgusting! I’m going to have to sterilize my whole apartment now and take another shower before I go to work. And then I’ll have to sterilize my clothes and—”
“Trina, stop.” Scott puts his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eye. “I didn’t have sex on the pool float.”
“Yeah, right. Why else would you have it? There’s no pool in the building. Who has a pool float without a pool?”
“I’m going to let you two talk this out,” Cole says. “But Scott, you might have a new idea here. She’s got a point about keeping the mattress clean.” He walks off.
Scott takes his hands off my shoulders but remains in front of me. “That pool float has never been used. Not even in a pool. And definitely not for sex.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because having a pool float in a New York City apartment doesn’t make sense. You’re definitely not using it in a pool.”
He walks back to the pool float and picks it up. “I promise you, this has never been used. Now do you want it or not?”
“No. I’d rather sleep on the floor.”
“You don’t believe me? You think I’m lying about it never being used?”
“I don’t know. I just met you. And guys lie.”
“Yeah, okay,” he says in an angry tone as he drags the pool float back into his apartment. He shuts the door, leaving me alone in the hall.
Why is he getting upset about this? It’s perfectly reasonable for me to ask why he has a pool float. And if he’s telling the truth and it’s never been used, then why does he have it? Why won’t he tell me?
I go back to my apartment and notice how empty it looks without the pool float. I’ll admit, it was really comfortable. It wasn’t one of those cheap, flimsy ones. It was really high quality and several inches thick, more like an inflatable mattress than a pool float.
Maybe I should’ve kept it. I could go tell Scott I changed my mind. But I still don’t trust that it’s never been used. I’ll just go back to sleeping on the floor.
An hour later, I leave for work. I go out to the hall and see two girls waiting outside Scott’s apartment, a blonde and a brunette. They’re both beautiful, like Bridget.
Are they Scott’s friends, or more than that? Does Bridget know he’s having girls over? I know he said there’s nothing going on with her, but I don’t believe him.
“Hi!” the blonde girl says to me as I go down the hall.
I smile at her. “Hi.”
Scott’s door opens and our eyes meet as I pass by.
“Hey, Scott,” the brunette says.
He continues to look at me until I’m past his apartment, then I hear him talking to the girls. “Come on in.”
Why are those girls at Scott’s apartment? Maybe it’s completely innocent and they’re just hanging out, but I find that hard to believe. A hot guy doesn’t invite two beautiful girls over to just sit around and watch TV.
Why do I care? He can do what he wants. I don’t know why I’m even thinking about this. I should be thinking about Asher, and what I’m going to say if he asks me to move back in with him.