Painful Pleasures

Chapter 8

Gretchen and I are seated at the restaurant when the waiter brings my burger and chips with coke and her chicken wings with barbecue sauce.

"Chicken wings huh." I say as she takes a bite then dramatically rolls her eyes in ecstasy.

"I'm a meat and spice kinda girl." She says and I laugh.

"So...I didn't see you when I came back this morning. Where were you?" She asks with a suspicious raise of her brow and I immediately have a quick flashback of everything.
Going to bed.
Ethan.
Waking up.
Ethan.
Seeing Jay.
Ethan again...
Going to his penthouse...
With Ethan.
Coming back...
With Ethan.

Great. Every aspect of my day has him in it, even the part of me buying a lampshade.
Gretchen wiggles her eyebrows at me and I know it's time to spill...I'd shut her out enough.

"Remember that guy that brought me home when I was drunk?" I ask and she nods slowly.

"Well..."
I tell her everything, from the voicemail to the club incident, to meeting him at Splitz, to him coming to the room last night, to bumping into Jay at Walmart, to the punch Ethan had given him, to the Penthouse.

When I'm done... Gretchen's jaw is hanging open.

"Where do I start? Oh my God, April. First of all, I am so sorry that bastard, Jay had sent that to you on voicemail. Then secondly, Ethan was in the room? That sounds thrilling and exciting and scary all at once. But the highlight is he gave Jay a nutcracker in the face, which he totally deserved, and then he brought you back!"

I can't stop laughing at how her expression changes from sadness, to surprise, to giddiness and awe.

She suddenly puts her hand to her chest dramatically,
"I can't believe you were hiding this from me."

"More like hiding it from myself. I don't know, there is just too much drama going on that I'm trying to avoid." I say and she rolls her eyes.

"April, you can't avoid boy drama. The more you avoid it, the more it finds you. Example this Griffin guy you keep speaking of."

"Griphen."

"Huh?"

"His name. It's Ethan Griphen. It's okay, I made the same mistake."

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute. As in G-R-I-P-H-E-N?"

"Yup." I say and finish my burger.

"As in Griphen & Griphen company limited."

I swallow. What is she talking about?

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I say, picking my fries.

"April. Griphen & Griphen is a huge company here that operates in everything and anything computer and software-based. I hear it's a family business, you know. It's been around here for ages."

I chew on another fry... I have no idea where she is going with this.
"So?" I ask

"SO??!" She nearly screeches.

"These people have created tons of apps of recent. Then it was only based on computer software programs that channel easy communication and carry out so many functions. But they make tons of applications now in combination with software programming. They're a major hit in this part of California."

Well, that explains the Penthouse.

"Wow." Is all I say. I never knew Ethan was a hit...and I don't want to care, no matter how bad I already do. It's not like we are gonna see each other again.
There is no reason to see.
I'm not even sure we're friends...or acquaintances even.