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he
needed was answers, but it wasn’t the right time to pump her for
information. She’d had too much to drink. She was emotional and
wasn’t thinking clearly. His questions would have to wait. He ran
into the house and locked the door, calling Belinda as he ran up
the stairs. He was tired. He wanted to slip into bed and escape his
thoughts for a while, but he’d promised to call Belinda and Eli was
a man of his word.
    Belinda picked
up after the first ring. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten
about me.”
    Going from
talking to Jamie to talking to Belinda felt like stepping off the
plane after a tropical vacation and facing a harsh blast of winter.
Even when Jamie was sad and needed a shoulder to cry on, there was
no one he’d rather be with. He sank down on the end of his bed
before toeing his shoes off. “Sorry that took so long. I know it’s
late.”
    “I didn’t mind
waiting up.” She paused before asking, “How’s your friend?”
    “She’s okay.
She just had a bit too much to drink.”
    “She must be
pretty important to you if you were willing to drop everything and
run to her rescue.”
    He hadn’t
explained his relationship with Jamie because he suspected Belinda
wouldn’t understand, but it was time. She needed to know the truth
before they took their relationship any further. “Jamie’s been a
part of my life since high school.”
    “I see.”
    He knew she was
waiting for him to explain. “We dated back in high school, but
we’ve just been friends ever since.” He didn’t tell her about their
one night together while Jamie was still with Brent. That was
private, and he didn’t know Belinda well enough to trust her with
his secrets. Ironically, he only knew one person that well:
Jamie.
    “Are you sure
about that?”
    Eli had to be
honest. She had every right to know what she was getting herself
into. “I still love her. I probably always will, but she just wants
to be friends, and I’m okay with that.”
    “Are you sure?”
She sighed. “Look, Eli, I know all about being in love with your
ex. I still have feelings for my ex, but I’m ready to move on. Can
you say the same?”
    Could he? He
chuckled to lighten the mood. “I just told you Jamie and I haven’t
dated since high school. Are you suggesting I’ve been saving myself
for her?”
    “I don’t know.
Have you?”
    Eli had
intended it as a joke, but she was taking him seriously. Rightly
so. “I’ve been with plenty of women since Jamie and I were a
couple.”
    “There’s a
difference between giving your heart to someone and having sex with
them.”
    As if he didn’t
know that. Eli was too exhausted, emotionally and physically, to
have that conversation. “Can we talk about this tomorrow on the way
to my parents’ place? That’s assuming you still want to come.”
    “I still want
to come. She may have been stupid enough to give up on you without
a fight, but I think you’re worth the effort.”
    Eli’s first
impulse was always to defend Jamie, but he knew he had to let it
go. “I’ll text you in the morning to let you know what time I’ll
pick you up.” Maybe after a good night’s sleep, his life would make
sense again.
     
    ***
     
    Jasmine woke up
with a heavy head, cursing the person pounding on her door. Whoever
it was knew the building’s entrance code, so the options were
limited to family and a few close friends. She immediately thought
of Eli. Pausing to run her hands through her tangled hair, she
pulled open the door, wishing she’d taken the time to brush her
teeth. When she saw her twin brother, she groaned. “Go away.”
    She loved Den,
but he should know better than to show up at nine on her day off.
Since he’d bought a unit in the building next door, he made a habit
of dropping by at the most inopportune times to check on her. She
suspected her parents put him up to it, but he refused to give them
away.
    “I brought
coffee,” he said, raising the take-out tray. “I thought you