Bliss Read Free

“FLIRT!” in script.
    â€œI’m not really into threesomes,” said the girl.
    Demi would have said the same, except she was incapable of speech.
    â€œYou’re the girlfriend? James told me about you on the plane.” She had a Slavic accent. “I am Svetland. Nice to meet you.”
    â€œYou met on the flight?” croaked Demi.
    In her head, Demi was screaming and beating the living shit out of James, but her body and mouth didn’t move. What happened here? He got on a plane and grabbed some tacky model to bring back to their apartment while she was at work? This cheesy fembot was supposed to be an afternoon quickie for him that she would never know about?
    How many others had there been?
    Didn’t he even care about getting caught?
    He glanced at his phone on the night table, like it explained things. The phone? What did the phone have to do with Demi’s … ohhhhh. Her brain cylinders fell into place . He was tracking her phone’s GPS. She’d left it at work. He thought she was twenty minutes away, and that he’d have plenty of time to get rid of FLIRT! when the GPS dot started to move. Sneaky.
    Svetland had retreated into the bathroom and came back out in a knockoff Versace dress, a barfy pseudo-Chanel bag thrown over her shoulder. Fake, fake, fake. In a perverse way, Demi was disappointed in him. He could do better.
    The girl’s shoulder brushed Demi’s as she hustled out of the room. The contact made Demi feel suddenly, painfully exposed. She reached for her robe on a nearby chair and slipped it on. “How long?” she asked him. “And, more importantly, how many?”
    â€œAre you really that paranoid and insecure?” he asked.
    â€œFuck you. Don’t patronize me! I caught you red-handed.”
    â€œIf you give me five seconds to explain.” He rubbed his forehead, and Demi hoped he had a cracking migraine. “I was nervous about the flight, so I took a couple Ambiens and had a drink or two. I guess I passed out. It’s pretty fuzzy how we got back here, but Svetland told me she practically carried me off the plane and got me in a cab. She asked me if she could take a quick shower here after the long flight, and considering all she did for me, I said yes. If it weren’t for her, I don’t know what would have happened to me. She got me home safe. Nothing happened. As you can see, I’m in no shape to screw anyone, including you. I wish I could, though. You look stunning.”
    Demi was disgusted by the compliment. Did he think he could flatter his way out of this? She pulled the robe tighter. “That girl said the thing about a threesome.”
    â€œA joke, obviously. Not too funny.”
    Backtracking, Demi replayed the scene with the new info. Svetland’s hair was wet. She had her carry-on in the bathroom, like she was in there to shower and change. James was a mess. He could barely keep his eyes open. She’d seen him dose liberally on flights before. Two drinks on top of an Ambien could drop a buffalo. Maybe she was being paranoid and insecure. If what he said were true, she owed them both an apology. Now I look like a psycho , she thought. She veered from one extreme ( it’s a nightmare! ) to the other ( it’s fine! ).
    â€œYou can’t blame me for jumping to the wrong conclusion,” she said. “Finding a strange girl in the bathroom, anyone would freak out.”
    â€œBut you’re not anyone,” he slurred, smiling slow and sexy, the same smile that enthralled her three years ago. “You’re my soul mate.” Even wasted, he knew that meant the world to her.
    Sophia would have vomited; Demi was so relieved to hear it, she rushed toward the bed and climbed in next to him. He opened his arms and she tucked herself inside them. James kissed the top of her head, stroked her hair, and said, “Shhhh.” She hadn’t realized she was crying with