Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

I hated this. I hated absolutely everything about it.

Why hadn’t I tried harder to convince him not to come this morning? That way, I could’ve kept him all to myself. Oh, my God, now she was holding his hand. I wanted to stab something. Preferably her.

Picking up my fork, I skewered a piece of waffle and bitterly shoved it into my mouth. When I’d woken up this morning, the soundtrack in my head had been “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. Now it was “Ain’t No Sunshine,” also by Bill Withers.

A little while later, Neil and Annabelle both stood from their table. She came forward, pulling him into a hug. The stabby instinct returned. They exchanged words, and then she left. Once she was gone, Neil made his way over to me. His expression was one of pleasant surprise.

“That looked like it went a lot better than either of us expected,” I said, trying hard not to sound as unhappy and jealous as I felt.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, she, um … she said she wants to date me.”

WHAT?!

My eyebrows shot up, and my chest burned with the fire of a thousand suns. It wasn’t a fun feeling, let me tell you. “Do you … do you want to date her?”

A fleeting shadow crossed his features. “Well, yes, I suppose I—"

“Great,” I said, cutting him off sullenly as I stabbed my remaining piece of waffle with my fork. Was it possible for one’s stomach to spontaneously drop out of one’s body? That was the sensation I was feeling right then.

Neil frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” I replied, unable to disguise the irritation in my voice.

He folded his arms, tilting his head in curiosity. “Well, that’s obviously a lie.”

I let my fork fall to my plate with a loud clatter. “I just don’t think you can trust her,” I blurted, and his frown deepened.

“Okay, why not?”

I made a dramatic hand gesture. “Well, for one, there’s what I observed of her at the gym.”

“Afric, you don’t even know if what you saw was correct. You said yourself you were too far away to hear her conversation.”

“So? Her snickering and body language told me all I needed to know. And to be honest, there’s a good chance that she’s only asked you on a date to get closer to Callum.”

Neil’s lips pressed together, dismay colouring his features. “Right, so you don’t think she could ever genuinely be interested in me, is that what you’re saying?”

“No, of course not, but this is an unusual circumstance, and I care about you, Neil. I won’t stand by and watch you get taken advantage of.”

“You think I’m naïve, then?”

Oh, hell. I was messing this up completely. Where was my tact when I needed it? Then again, it had never been my strong suit.

I levelled my eyes on his. “Look, I just feel like someone who thought they were conducting an online relationship with Callum Davidson wouldn’t take to being catfished quite so graciously. Maybe if she’d gotten a little angry first, then yes, I would’ve believed her acceptance, but the way she behaved is way too suspicious to me.”

I left the other part of what I wanted to say unsaid. The fact of the matter was that I was upset by how easily he’d agreed to a date with Annabelle when there was clearly some attraction and feelings brewing between us. He might’ve been drunk last night, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some truth to what he’d said. It seemed I was destined to repeat old patterns, developing feelings for men who, for various reasons, discarded me in the end. The sad thing was Neil and I hadn’t even been in a relationship.

He didn’t respond for a long moment, and a shadow fell over the table. “Listen, I have to go. I have to check in at the gym. Callum and James wanted me to run some errands for them.”

I gaped at him. “So, you’re just going to run off and leave things like this?”

“I can’t see what good will be achieved by sitting here arguing.”

I frowned, a little piece of my heart breaking in two. “Fine, go then.”

“Afric—”

“Just go. You’ve won the lottery. Annabelle wants to date you. Congratulations.”

He frowned back at me, but he didn’t reply. Instead, he left, and I wandered up to the counter to order another plate of waffles.

I was about to eat every last one of my feelings.





14.



Neil

Two days went by. Afric and I still hadn’t spoken. I missed her more with every passing hour, but I was also still angry at her. I was angry at her for poking holes in Annabelle’s easy acceptance, for being so suspicious, and for arousing my own suspicions in return. She’d broken the momentary spell Annabelle had cast over me and inserted stirrings of doubt.

And the fact of the matter was that I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Not Annabelle. Afric. Interpret from that what you will.

A few hours after I departed the café, I accepted the fact that I wasn’t as excited about dating Annabelle as I wanted to be. When we’d been sitting across from each other and she said she wanted to date me, I’d felt a certain amount of gratification. It had soothed me to think a woman like her would actually want me, despite my lie. A few months ago, I wouldn’t have believed that she could accept the real me, not even in my wildest dreams. But now that I had some time and space to think about it, the happiness I should be feeling fell flat. Annabelle wasn’t the one who sent my pulse racing.