“Yeah. Her name’s Devi.”
“She’s really hot,” Bambi says approvingly.
Something twists inside me. “Yeah. She’s pretty much perfect.”
“Well, I won’t take up any more of your time,” Bambi says, and shrugs her bag higher up on her shoulder, walking toward the door. “Oh, and I saw Raven’s tweet while I was getting dressed. Congratulations, dude. People will fall all over themselves for that.”
Raven’s name and the word congratulations should not ever share the same space, unless someone is congratulating me on escaping our relationship, and I’m immediately wary and on edge. But I also have to get out of here and find Devi, so I decide to shelve this Raven thing for the moment and make sure Bambi leaves.
“It was great working with you,” I say, and I think it sounds convincing because she flashes me a big smile.
“I would say the same to you, except you already know how great it was for me.” She winks, and then she waves and walks out the door, blowing me a kiss before she shuts it behind her.
And I’m on my feet in an instant, swiping my keys off the counter, jogging to my garage door. As I get in my car and back out of my driveway, I dig my phone out, thinking I’d have to dig to find this tweet of Raven’s that Bambi mentioned, but nope. It’s right there in my notifications on my lock screen.
New project with @number1Toole CUMMING soon. #staytuned #bignews
“What the fuck?” I mumble, steering with one hand, my eyes flicking between the empty road and my phone. I swipe at the tweet, opening up the app, and then I see not only Raven’s tweet, but the innumerable number of replies, people shitting themselves over Raven’s “announcement.”
@theRealRaven does this mean you and logan are back together?????
@theRealRaven omfg i can’t wait to see you two together again, you guys were my favorite couple.
I can’t wait to see @number1Toole and @theRealRaven fuck again!!!! #bestcouple #truelove
I already feel sick, but this actually sends my stomach clenching, and for a minute, I have to will myself not to puke all over the Shelby’s steering wheel. What the fuck is Raven doing? There’s definitely no project and there’s definitely no chance in hell that I would even consider a project with her, so why the public announcement?
And worse, she’s not doing anything to dispel the rumors that we’re back together. At this point, the mere thought of dating Raven again is enough to make me go Hulk Smash on the nearest building.
I’m dialing Raven’s number without giving it any additional consideration or caution, because fuck caution. I’m pissed as hell, and she’s going to know about it. She picks up the phone after only a couple of rings, as if she expected me to call.
“Logan.” Her voice is confident, controlled. “How nice to hear from you.”
“What the hell are you doing, Julie?”
“You know if you use my real name, I will use yours, and it bothers you much more than it bothers me.”
“Thanks for the warning. Now explain yourself.”
Raven/Julie lets out a long-suffering sigh. “I was just trying to gauge interest in a joint project. We talked about doing one when I was over at your house, remember? I figured why not toss it around publicly? See how our fans react?”
My jaw is clenched so tightly my head hurts. “You talked about doing a scene together. I refused, if you recall.”
I can practically hear the one-shouldered shrug on the other side of the call. “You were upset and not thinking clearly. I figured once you saw how much traction a joint scene would get, you’d see that it’s a good idea after all. And now that it’s announced, you don’t want to disappoint all your fans, do you?”
At the last moment, I decide not to take the highway and turn onto Venice Boulevard, driving a little faster and more aggressively than necessary. “You aren’t going to force my hand by doing this. My answer hasn’t changed. It’s still no.”
“You’ve changed,” she accuses. “You used to put the business first. Now all of a sudden you’re too good for it?”
“Don’t try that tactic. Even you don’t believe it’s true.”
“Then it’s that girl, isn’t it?”
There’s something raw and exposed underneath her bravado, and suddenly my nausea is replaced with something heavier, something tired. Is that what all this boils down to? Jealousy over Devi?
“You’re the one who left me, remember? Why do you care who I’m with?”
There’s a pause, and I wonder what she’s thinking, what her face looks like. It’s funny to think that she used to be the closest person in the world to me, but now there’s this insurmountable wedge between us, a wedge so large that I have no idea what she’s thinking and feeling right now. And then I remember what she said, that it was my career that was the wedge that drove her away from me, and my stomach knots in fear. I press down harder on the gas pedal, desperate to see Devi as soon as possible.
“She’s too young for you,” Raven says. “You should have seen her on LaRue’s set, Logan. She looked terrified.”
“She is none of your business,” I say firmly. “And neither am I. I’m done with this—all of it. I’ll let you deal with explaining to everyone that there’s no project.”
“Think about what you’re doing,” she chastises. “Throwing away an opportunity for what? A girl?”
“No.” I stop myself from saying all the angry things that beg to be said, all the threats I want to make if she ever bothers Devi again. Instead I just say, “It’s over between us, Julie. Emotionally and professionally. And I’d appreciate it if you could respect that.”