Read Online Come Together by Jessica Hawkins - Free Book Online Page A

pulling open the glass door just as I had stepped under the stream of water. I didn’t notice him at first, but when I did, I was jarred by the way his eyes ran over me. I’d been not just comfortable but confident hours earlier in the dressing room, but suddenly, dripping wet, I felt exposed in his large shower.
    “Don’t cover yourself,” David said. “Let me enjoy the fact that you get better every time I see you.”
    I reddened instinctively, not realizing my hands had been over my breasts. I dropped them to my sides and stood, letting the water soak me as he watched.
    “Jesus,” he’d grumbled finally, adjusting his pants. “I’ll be downstairs at the gym.”
    Aside from the shower, the bathroom also had a large, built-in bathtub surrounded by matching slate-colored rock. After I’d dried and styled my hair, I sat on the edge of the tub and dialed Gretchen.
    “I spoke to Lucy,” she said after I gave her my new number.
    “And?”
    “And I guess Bill is pretty fucked up. He doesn’t know what to do with himself.”
    “Should I go see him?”
    “Better let it be for now. At least until he cools off. He wasn’t happy that you gave the ring back since he figured you were just getting this out of your system.”
    “That was when he punched the wall.”
    David appeared in my peripheral vision, post-shower, one towel scrubbing his hair and another slung low on his hips. I couldn’t resist letting my eyes wander over him, and he gave me a wolfish grin. I was wearing the only thing he had picked out himself during our shopping trip: a short, white silk robe. Gretchen , I mouthed when he nodded at me.
    “I invited Andrew and Lucy tonight,” Gretchen was saying, “but they declined. I guess Bill is going over there to hang out.”
    “Well, I’m glad he has Andrew, even if it means I don’t have Lucy right now.”
    “Lucy said Bill said you fainted.”
    “Oh. Did I not mention that?”
    “No. Are you okay?”
    “My elbows are a little bruised,” I said, inspecting my arm. “But that’s it.”
    I looked up because I felt David glowering down at me. He took my arm in his hand and turned it over.
    “I’ll see you tonight,” I said distractedly and hung up.
    “You said he didn’t touch you.”
    “He didn’t. I fainted.”
    “You fainted ?” he repeated.
    “Just for a second. I was nervous.”
    “What if it’s something serious?”
    “I simply did not eat enough that day, and I forgot to breathe,” I said. We stared at each other until I rose from the edge to fix my makeup.
    “The diet or whatever stops here,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of you not eating.”
    “It’s not a diet,” I said irritably. “I don’t eat when I’m depressed or nervous. Things should even out soon enough.”
    He eyed me skeptically but dropped it when his phone chimed. He picked it from the bathroom counter and cursed.
    “What?” I asked, sweeping powder over my nose.
    “It’s Maria.”
    I instantly released the powder brush into my makeup bag and glared at his reflection. “What?” I repeated loudly.
    “I forgot to cancel on her tonight.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “I invited her ages ago, and with everything going on, I just forgot.” He looked up and caught my expression. “Don’t be upset.” He waved the phone. “I’m telling her now.”
    “Telling her what?” I asked.
    “That I don’t need her to come.”
    I whirled from the counter and gaped at him. “You haven’t broken things off with her?”
    “There’s nothing to break off,” he said as he typed. “I just call her when I need her.”
    “Need her?” I asked with disgust.
    He looked up. “For events and stuff,” he said sheepishly.
    “Tell her that you will not be needing her for anything , ever again.”
    “All right, but it’s not necessary. And I’m not saying that over a text message.”
    I blanched, trying to think of a response. “You need to . . . to . . . Why do I even have to tell you this?