Hour by Hour (Games & Diversions #2) (8 page)

But the dive
isn’t
graceful; it’s harsh—panicked.

I hit the pavement with an exacting thud, crushing my arms and elbows into cement as I tumble across the lot.

I land, at last, with an explosion of pain in my shoulder. I lean my head back as soon as every part of me comes to a halt.

When I run a hand across my face, I can taste the metallic flavor of blood.

Chris is suddenly at my side as my whereabouts begin to register. He lifts me up into a painful sitting position.

I inspect my body with blurry eyes as the sound of Greg’s peeling wheels fades away. I am bruised, scraped, but not broken. At least, not in body…

In spirit?
Well, that’s a different story.

I now have an actual suspect in this evil little chess game… and
I just let him go.

The cardinal sin in poker, worse than playing bad cards, worse even than figuring your odds correctly, is becoming emotionally involved. – Katy Lederer

ELENA

“Linda’s calling,
Again
.”

Ana swings her head into my unorganized bedroom, waving my phone at me from the doorway.

The flash from the phone is as bright as her smile, and it blinks intermittently—almost ominously, signaling an incoming call.

It’s the last thing I need right now.

I’d rather ignore it…
and
Ana. I continue sitting rigidly on my unmade bed, writing fixatedly while my pink-colored phone case dangles playfully in her hands.

“I put my phone on silent for a reason, Ana. You don’t have to broadcast it.”

I look up from the pages of my little black agenda.

“Or better yet, why don’t you take a message? You’ve gotten
awfully
good at posting them everywhere around the house.”

My irritation seeps out.

I reach inside my agenda, holding up one of the many Starburst-colored Post-It notes that she’s stuck around the house—each one containing an obvious allusion to the last night that Lukas and I spent together.

Ana smiles. “Not everywhere” she says. “Just everywhere that
you
would find them.”

I crumble up the Post-It, throwing it in her direction. She dodges it.

“Foxx and Kat are going to find them,” I proclaim.

Ana shrugs. “
Doubt it
. This is one house that actually
is
big enough for the both of you…
and
your egos.”

“Yeah…” I say, flipping a page. “Tell that to Kat.”

“Why don’t you tell her? And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell
me
? What the
hell
is going on between you two? You haven’t talked since my graduation party. What’s the big secret?”

I stick my head further into my agenda, scribbling even more furiously with my pen. I’m writing so hard that I leave massive imprints on the pages. I almost tear one of them.

“Don’t look at me,” I tell Ana. “
Kat’s
the one with the secrets.”

“
She’s not the only one
,
Elle
… Mind telling me what happened between you and Lukas?”

Riiip.
My page splits into two.

“There’s nothing to tell.” I try to appear unaffected. I know it’s not working.

“Right… because you always have Post-It notes stuck to your ass after locking yourself in offices with Greek Gods.”

I point my pen at her.

“
Look,
Anastasia. I’m a single woman. Whatever I do…or
don’t
do… is
my
business. It has no bearing on any other person or thing.”

I return to my writing.

“You might want to remind your
other
sister of that.” I sit up straighter, adjusting the glasses on my face. “In the meantime, I have more important things to worry about—like the date I have tonight…”

Ana gasps, rushing over to my bedside to sit beside me. Her baby blue skirt flaps briefly as she runs, floating gently back on her lap as she takes a seat.

Her eyes are wide. “
You mean with
…?”

“Yup,” I answer semi-brightly.

It’s the first thing I’ve been able to smile about all week.

“Tonight’s the night. We’re going to have dinner and I think we might even, uh—what’s the phrase—
close the deal
?”

Ana beams, jokingly slapping at my arm. “Wow, Elle, I’m
impressed.
I was afraid that you wouldn’t have the balls to do it.”

“You mean ‘the steel-set vagina’ to do it?”

Ana laughs. “Hell yeah, that’s even better. Or how about a ‘brass clit’?”

“Jeez, Ana, you’re so uncouth.”

She taps my nose. “I’ve only learned from the best.”

She keeps talking. “Seriously, Elle. You’re a rock star; I think going out on this limb is
amazing
. You’re opening yourself up to new things.

“Maybe being with Lukas really
has
expanded your horizons.”

“I don’t know
what
you’re talking about…” I teasingly sing.

Ana frowns in my face. “Fine. You can ‘Bill Clinton’ me all you want with your ‘sexual relations,’ Miss Elena, but I know what really happened.”

She flashes my own thick, sticky notepad at me.

“And I’ve got the Post-It notes to prove it…”

I shake my head at her. “I will neither confirm nor deny…”

At my answer, Ana pouts with exaggeration, slumping her shoulders and crossing her arms.

UGH.

I decide to throw her a bone.

“But I will tell you this, Ana: If I actually
were
with Lukas… he’d be better than a fistful of Godiva chocolate…”

She perks up immediately. “Better than a boxful of Mom’s brownies?”

“
Much better.
”

“Oh, damn. He
must
be good, then.”

“Like I said… I will neither confirm nor deny.”

Ana nods with uninhibited approval, momentarily giddy from the information I’ve just shared. But then she pauses. Her expression falls.

“What’s up, Anastasia?”

“Nothing... it’s just all this talk about Griff, you know.” She shifts on the bed. “Elle, I
really
want this shot with
Tripping Out!
and I
need
to work with him.

“Foxx handles the journalism, Chris handles the business, and Griff... well, he works everything behind the scenes. He’s the life-blood of
Tripping Out!
He handles all of its tech stuff.

“I need him to know that I can contribute to
Tripping Out!
—the media, the website, the IT security.”

“How can I convince him?” she asks herself, chewing absently on the pad of her thumb. “Maybe if I can bribe him with a treat…” She raises an eyebrow.

My pen freezes and I look up at Ana—deadpan. “You’d better be talking about those damn brownies.”

“I just don’t know what to do, Elle. I don’t know how to get through to him. He just always seems… preoccupied.”

My curiosity spikes. I sneak a peek at Ana’s face from behind my agenda’s cover.

“Is something wrong with him?”

“No, I don’t think so…” she replies. “I mean, I always thought that
Chris
was the ‘worry wart’ of the bunch, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I think he’s got a girlfriend…”

I cough involuntarily, and my question comes out as a croak.

“
Lukas
?”

But Ana’s too distracted by her own thoughts to notice my discomfort.

“No, not Griff.
Chris.
I’ve caught him talking to the same lady a few times in his office—some
woman
named Trina. You know, one of those mouth-breather, bimbo types?”

“I’m sorry…
Mouth… Breather?”

Ana looks directly at me this time. “Yeah, you know…” She bats her eyelashes, affecting a breathy Marilyn Monroe-tone. “All this ‘
Chris, I don’t know where I’d be without you…’
or ‘
Chris, you’re so helpful and kind’
.”

I stifle a laugh.

“It’s so annoying, actually. I wonder: Can this Trina chick actually inhale and exhale through her nose like a
normal
person?”

She shakes her head of long, light brown hair and shrugs a shoulder.

“Or maybe her brain needs all the oxygen it can get.”

Trina
. I chew on my pen. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.

I squint harder at Ana, suppressing a grin. “Uh oh. Sounds like
someone’s
jealous.”

She snorts softly. “
Jealous?
I’m
not
jealous... I mean, I guess I’d say Chris is… kinda cute in a Frodo Baggins sort of way, but I don’t want him the way you want…”

I flash her a menacing look.

“
Godiva,”
she finishes. “And if you were to ask me, I’d say
Godiva
wants you even more.”

I take a long breath, thinking about…
Godiva
—wishing it were that simple. A chocolate craving would be the
least
of my worries.

It’s all the other cravings that are turning my world upside down.

I finally grab my phone from Ana’s hands.

“I’m probably the last thing that… Godiva wants or needs right now.”

I check the time display on my phone.

“Shit, I’m running out of time. I need to get to the restaurant, but I wanted to go get my poor Aphrodite a check-up first.” I tap my pen on the front of my teeth.

“
Aphrodite
?” Ana pipes up. She claps her hands together. “I’ll take care of Aphrodite.”

“
Ana
…”

“Elle, trust me, I’ve got you. I love Aphrodite as if she were my own. She’s my baby, too.”

I slam my agenda closed, looking curiously at her.

“This is probably how you sucker Lukas, huh? Draw him in with your fast-talking and sweet, pretty eyes? Only he doesn’t know that devil that lies behind them. I do.”

“Come on, Elle… don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

Her pretty face is eager and anticipant. Sometimes, she looks so young, like the child she once was.
But she isn’t anymore.

She’s a grown woman now. She’s responsible. She deserves my trust.

I relent.

“Ok, all the information you’ll need is in the top drawer of my desk.
Don’t
have her out too late. And remember… she is the goddess of Love, so treat her with some.”

Ana hops excitedly off of the bed and towards the door. “Noooo problem.”

But when she reaches it, she stops. She turns slowly toward me, looking pensive.

“Hey, Elle
.
Maybe I was wrong about Godiva. Maybe what you have now isn’t Godiva; maybe… it’s Nestle.”

“
Nestle
?”

“Yeah,” she states firmly. “You know I’m no good with metaphors. Nestle, Ghirardelli, Lindt… I just mean something else. Something
different
. Something addictive and delicious that you’ve never had before.”

She starts to back her way out of the room.

“Either way…
don’t you think it’s time for a goddamned change
?”

***

Saturday night fucking blows.

Showing up to the restaurant for my date fails to lift my spirits.

In fact, it does the opposite.

I can’t stop thinking about what Ana said to me, and I can’t stop thinking about how complicated my life has suddenly become.

I stretch my arms above my head to roll the tension out of my shoulders.

I stifle a yawn, checking my watch.
Seven o’clock—
and I’m already damn near ready for bed.

For fuck’s sake, I’m in one of the fanciest bistros I’ve ever seen, and yet I am dressed like someone’s secretary.

My hair is pinned up, and my glasses are on. My makeup is minimal, and my skirt’s too long.