Willa & the Extraordinary Internship

CH. 16

"Willa, let's go," Maryam said nervously.

"No," Willa replied. Before she knew what she was doing, she walked right up to him. "Hi, Luke," she said brightly, not knowing what had come over her. It was anger, certainly, but it was also disbelief and a needling urge to force him into an ugly confrontation in front of his date. His date. She had seen it all play out in front of her and she still couldn't reconcile that her boyfriend was here with another woman, unashamedly kissing her.

He glanced up at her, expression irritated like he couldn't believe someone was actually interrupting him when he was so clearly on a date. And then he went right back to his date like he didn't even know Willa. "Sweetheart, you ready to move to a table?" Even though he had only taken a sip of his drink, he left it on the counter as he took the other woman by the elbow and began shepherding her away from Willa.

"Don't leave! I'd love to get to know your date." Willa's smile was as fake as her tone, but Luke just stared at her like she was a lunatic who had escaped Bedlam.

"Luke?" His date darted a look at Willa, her face openly friendly. She tried to smile at Willa, but Willa didn't smile back. She wasn't going to smile at her boyfriend's date.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom," Luke finally managed. He chugged his drink in one go and pushed past Willa, ostensibly because he needed to take a leak. But Willa knew better; she watched him weave his way through the crowd and slip out the door. Classy, he stuck his date with the bill, she thought with bitterness.

"Um, so you know Luke?"

Willa turned her attention back to the woman. She still looked friendly, but now her voice was confused and a little insecure, like she was trying to figure out what kind of threat Willa could be on her relationship. "Yeah," Willa said shortly. Oh my god, wasn't this conversation over? She turned to leave, but the woman's voice called her back.

"Do you know which drinks are good here? I've never been much of a drinker, honestly." She smiled, revealing perfectly white, straight teeth.

"Try the Singapore Sling," Willa said with reluctance, unable to say anything rude to a woman who was so blissfully ignorant of how messed up the evening had become. "Gin, cherry brandy, and pineapple juice. It's sweet."

"Awesome," the other woman enthused. "I had no idea what to order so I asked for a jack and Coke because that's always what they order in the movies." She extended a delicate hand to Willa. "I'm Jane, by the way."

If she had been ugly, it would have been easy to label her as Plain Jane. But she was stunning, with an effortless beauty that could have passed for au naturel if it wasn't for the tell-tale shimmer of gloss on her lips. "Willa. Hi." Willa smiled tightly and gave the woman's hand a cursory shake, trying not to linger too long. "So that guy was your date tonight, right?" she asked after Jane had placed her order.

Jane laughed lightly. "Luke? Yeah." She leaned back on the stool, craning her head in the direction of the restrooms. "He should be back in a minute. Bar bathrooms always have a line."

"Seeing each other for long?" Willa couldn't resist asking.

"Oh, yeah," Jane giggled. It was the kind of giggle that implied she'd slept with him and was probably in love with him, too. Not necessarily in that order. "But we're keeping it casual. You know."

Yeah, the problem was that Willa did know.

"So how do you know Luke?" Jane asked, frank curiosity in her eyes.

Willa paused thoughtfully. "Right. Well." Awkward. She looked her in the eyes. "He's my boyfriend."

Jane's lips parted and she ignored the drink the bartender slid her. "Sorry, what?"

"My boyfriend," Willa repeated loudly. Too loudly, maybe, because Maryam was at her side in an instant.

"Willa, let's go," her friend said insistently.

"I'm so sorry," Jane said quickly. Then, as though it had just struck her, she stared into her drink and exclaimed, "oh my god!" She looked absolutely stunned as she turned to Willa with a beseeching expression. "I didn't know he was seeing anyone else."

"Yeah, you and me both," Willa said dryly, hopping off the barstool. "I'm sorry about your evening."

Jane didn't reply. Maybe she didn't want to deal with any more platitudes.

Willa let Maryam usher her from the room, inhaling deeply when they were outside in the fresh air. Releasing a steadying exhale, she avoided her friend's eyes. "At least now I know."

"I'm sorry, Wi." Maryam's face was downturned. "I can't believe he would do that to you. You went with him to his brother's wedding last month! You met his mother."

"Yeah, guess the sanctity of being a chair filler at a wedding doesn't mean the same thing it used to," Willa said. "Come on, Maryam. I spent maybe ten minutes with his parents before he pawned me off on some of his brother's friends under the excuse that he had to spend some time with his side of the family. And he didn't come back until it was time to go home."

"Don't make it a joke."

"I'm the one who was just cheated on. Literally right in front of me. I think I have the right to resort to sarcasm if I want to."

Maryam shook her head. "C'mon. My place. We'll order greasy Chinese food and watch 27 Dresses."

"And booze," Willa added as she followed Maryam to the parking lot. "Lots and lots of booze."

Author's Note: Do you think Willa handled it well? Would you have done anything differently? Let me know!