🥊 Hate or Fate 💕 {Enemies to Lovers}

.20.

Rebecca was lounging on her bed with a cold compress and a large empty glass of what looked like water (complete with silly straw) when I finally emerged from my steamy shower. My skin was puckered and splotchy (and more than a little flushed), but I felt totally relaxed and my headache was completely gone. 

Rebecca's expression, on the other hand, looked as if her head was trying to murder her slowly.

"Can I get you anything?" I offered, squeezing my face around her door.

"Not unless I puked up my dignity in the shower this morning and you're here to return it?" Rebecca whispered as if it pained her greatly to speak. "And girl, why didn't you tell me that you chose Gray for the Microsoft campaign?"

"Oh," just the mention of his name made me blush deeper as my stomach knotted with guilt. "He told you about that, huh?"

"Yeah, he told me," Rebecca pushed herself up with a strained expression etched into her striking features. "Of course, he waited until after I got drunk and tried to shoot my shot with him. I struck out, obvi."

"Gray turned you down?" I swallowed my shame and pushed my way into her room to close her curtains, blocking out the wedge of light that was slicing her bed in half. "What an idiot."

"Right? Gray told me he has a strict policy," she raised her hands to make air quotes. "No sleeping with coworkers."

"Huh," I bobbed my head gingerly.

Good to know that Gray had some principles. One at least.

"Well, don't be too upset," I assured her, keeping my voice down while she massaged her temple. "He's an asshat who lied for Elijah for years, apparently."

Rebecca's head snapped up, a move that made her wince with regret. "Owie," she moaned. "That wasn't smart."

I darted forward to grab her compress, which had already grown warm and icky. After running it under the cold tap in the bathroom, I brought it back to her.

"What's this about years now?" She squinted at me through one eye like a slightly peeved pirate while applying the compress to her matted hair.

"Gray told me at the gallery," I exhaled as the anger came rushing back. "He blames himself for Elijah's accident because he was on the phone with my ex-boyfriend when it happened. Then, Gray let it slip that he'd been lying for Elijah for years. Not just once, he said he felt guilty for the years of lies. I was so fucking hurt that I bailed. Sorry to leave without telling you what was going on." 

"Da-amn," she peeked from under the compress. "What a fucker."

"Yeah, well, that's why you shouldn't be upset about the whole no sleeping with coworkers, thing," I told her. "Gray's the worst."

He's also some of the best masturbation material I've ever found, but she didn't need to know that. Hell, women openly stared at Gray like they were trying to memorize his face (and body) for later, so, Rebecca was probably well aware. 

"No, I meant Elijah, chica!" Rebecca scoffed lightly. "He's a fucker for making his friends lie. It sounds like Gray is the only one that was honest with you."

"Gray only told me the truth because Elijah got caught," I reminded her. "Besides, Gray's always been a jerk, to me especially."

"Oh really?" Rebecca removed the compress to shoot me a look. "Well, that jerk spent most of his show asking about you."

"No, he didn't!" I snorted as she cringed at the harsh sound.

"He wanted to know how you were taking the breakup," she shrugged and adjusted herself against the fluffy pillow at her back. "I told him you were a big girl and you could take care of yourself."

"And what did he say to that?"

"Why do you care?" Rebecca teased. "He's always been a jerk."

"Well, he has," I argued weakly.

"I don't care right now," she moaned. "I'm going to puke all over you if we keep talking."

I slipped out and padded down the hall to fetch Rebecca a glass of cold water and fill a plastic baggie with ice cubes. The trip gave me a few minutes to think.

Insensitive Gray, the jerk who always had a smart remark and a bad attitude, was secretly a deep well of conflicting narratives.

Plopping two fizzy indigestion tablets into the water and grabbing a bottle of aspirin from her bathroom cupboard, I headed back to Rebecca's room with my goodies.

"Oh, chica," she sighed at the sight of the gifts I brought with me and grabbed the aspirin bottle while I wrapped her cold compress around the baggie of ice. "You take such good care of me. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I whispered gently. "But only for the tax benefits, I don't want to sleep with you. No offense. Fucking ruins friendships."

"None taken," Rebecca sucked down her water to wash down her pills. "For the record, I'm very good in bed."

I shook my head and chuckled into my bathrobe as I handed off her refreshed compress.

"I'm just sayin'," she continued as her eyes slid shut. "With me? Multiple orgasms."

"I have no doubt," I replied, retreating to let her recover in peace and sip her fizzy water.  

After pulling on some cozy pajamas, I curled up on the couch to binge-watch mindless television. Despite the shower curing my headache with that toe-curling orgasm, I was still feeling a little gross.

Memories of the previous night came rushing back, and try as I might, there was no escaping the embarrassment of my actions. I'm pretty sure I screamed at Gray in front of his guests on the night of his big show. Oh, and I tried to hit him. To complete my tantrum, I stormed out of his fancy party after our super loud argument.

Then, there was that moment in the bar where I'd been trying to take refuge. 

When our fingers touched, sparks ignited up my arm and into my chest. I could still feel the tingling beneath my skin.

I had no idea what it was that passed between us, but I knew Gray felt it too.

And last, but certainly not least, Gray inadvertently let it slip that Elijah had been lying to me for years.

Rebecca was right, which seemed to be a recurring theme in my life lately. It didn't matter that Gray, or Bart, or Grady had gone along with Elijah's lies. What mattered was that Gray was the only one who was man enough to tell me the truth.

The pain I saw in his face and heard in his broken voice was visceral. It cut so deep, that it left me breathless.

Why couldn't Elijah have done that?

Why did I have to hear the truth from his best friend? And, why was it so hard to admit that I was hiding from the truth even now? 

I could only see one option. I had to face him and ask Elijah myself.