Chapter 10 #3
“What are you waiting for? Ask her, you idiot.”
“I’m not sure she’d agree.”
“Are you kidding me? She’s crazy about you,” I blurt out. My eyes widen, and I quickly add, “I mean, she probably is. She texts you all the time. Plus, you’re such a catch, she’d be crazy to say no.”
Oli stops scrolling and turns to me. “From a woman who said ‘no,’ that means very little.”
“Oh, come on. I was falling in love with Lex already. But that girl … I mean, you two spend nights together and all. A woman wouldn’t let a man she isn’t crazy about into her space like that.”
“Maybe she’s the one who comes to my place.”
Oh, fuck. Now he sounds suspicious. “You’ve never been to hers?” I innocently ask.
“Maybe. Why are you being weird again?”
“I’m not weird. You’re weird.”
“You sound high-pitched, like on the phone earlier.”
“You’re the high pitch. And I have no idea what you’re talking about.” It’s my turn to look at the screen, pretending to read what’s on it.
“Andrea. What do you know?”
“Nothing. I know nothing because you told me nothing.”
He stares at my profile so intently I can almost feel it on my flushed skin. Out of the blue, he says, “I’m seeing Tamika.”
My shoulders sink from the pressure that bursts out of me, and I close my eyes with a wince to whimper, “I know.”
“How?!”
I force myself to look at him. “I came by this morning to pick up a few things, and I heard some … stuff. And then I texted you, and I recognized the notification sound.”
“You heard ‘stuff?!’”
“Yeah, congrats, man. Keep up the good work.” At least I’m not the only one blushing from embarrassment anymore.
“And you weren’t going to say anything?” he asks, outraged.
“No, because you two clearly didn’t want me to know, and I didn’t want to make it weird.”
“That’s not going so well for you, is it?”
“Nope. This is very weird. And uncomfortable.”
We sit in the tense silence for a moment, and I can’t tell yet if the truth being out is a good thing or not. At least he knows I know, and I suppose he’ll tell Tammy soon.
“Can I just ask how it started? It’s been eating me up.”
“After you bailed on her on Halloween, I took her back home. She was a little drunk, and she dove in to kiss me, as a thank you. Let’s just say she was very thankful.
Then she tried to weasel out of it the next time we saw each other, but I …
I don’t know, I didn’t feel like letting her. It was a very nice kiss.”
“That’s adorable,” I say with a smile, endeared by the enamored expression on his face.
“We took it slow, stolen moments here and there. And then you bailed on her again at Friendsgiving, and I was the one to take her home. That’s when things began to …”
“Intensify?”
“Yes.”
“Look at me, being an amazing wingwoman by bailing on my friends,” I joke with a shameful wince.
“She didn’t mind, trust me.”
“From what I heard this morning, I’m sure she didn’t.” Again, his face reddens. The mood turns serious when I ask, “Does she know you’re spending all this time with me?”
“Yes. But I told her it was to help you find stuff to help Lex. And I made it very, very clear I have no interest in you.”
“Is she okay with it?”
“I think she knows you’d never do that to Lex. But I’m not sure she knows I’d never do that to her, either.”
“Then go to her, officially ask her to be your girlfriend, and spend the weekend with her. I’ve got this, Oli,” I promise. “And if I don’t, I’ll let you know, okay?”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, Lex laid out the groundwork. All I have to do is follow the path he traced.”
He hesitates, and I can tell how much he wants to return to Tammy. “Go,” I insist. “I got this.”
Although reluctantly, Oli agrees to leave on the condition that I call him if I hit a snag. I have to shoo him out at least three times more, but he finally goes.
Just like that, I’m alone again. Or almost.
“Andrea, this is your reminder to eat lunch,” Iris chimes. “Do you want me to order something from UberEATS again, or would you rather I tell you what’s in the fridge?”
“I feel like eating Chinese. Can you order?”
“Of course. Do you want something in particular, or do you want me to use your past orders to pick a dish you’ll like and surprise you?”
“Surprise me, babe.”
“Very well. Order sent, your lunch should be delivered within thirty to forty-five minutes.”
“Thank you, bestie.”
I’m never really alone with Iris. Am I? I think that’s why I haven’t gone mad from solitude yet.
I have my very personal, all-knowing artificial assistant.
And she’s a great one, discreet, efficient, and quick.
It’s almost a shame to use that much intelligence and processing power for food deliveries. She could probably do so much more.
A spark lights up in the back of my head. “Iris?”
“Yes, Andrea.”
“Has Lex ever taught you how to code?”
“I am code. I have the knowledge I need to edit myself and create new scripts.”
“And are you any good at it?”
“I have Alexander’s knowledge plus any relevant information available online.”
“And could you … hack into things?”
“Alexander didn’t feed me that kind of knowledge, and there is little information available online.”
“Okay, so, if I fed you thousands of scripts,” I start, thinking of Lex’s old stuff, “and granted you access to the dark web … You could learn?”
“I suppose so. Why are you asking?”
“I need an assistant. Are you up for it, boo?”
“Anything I can do to be of help, Andrea.”
Good fucking girl …