Haze - By Andrea Wolfe Page 0,49

had walked into a real life romantic comedy.

God, I wanted to be goofing around with Jack like that right now. I was so jealous, even though I had seen Jack for the last three days straight and these two only got together about once a week, if that. Why was I being so ridiculous about this?

Well, it was the Sam thing. I knew it was. More importantly, I needed to eat.

***

"What are you studying again, Laura?" I couldn't remember even though Jesse mentioned it every time she came up in conversation. Stress was making me forgetful.

"I'm in med school. I would actually like to be a brain surgeon." She was twirling the pasta onto her fork, the movie cliché brought to life. I had always been jealous of people who could do that. Thankfully, Jesse was less adroit with pasta, so I didn't feel so out of place.

"You guys are gonna be rich," I said proudly. "Banker and a brain surgeon."

"Yeah, after we get all the student loan debt paid off." Jesse shrugged and grabbed another piece of garlic bread. He'd already eaten most of it himself. "How's your job been, Effie?"

"I like it, I guess," I said sheepishly. Part of me wanted to admit everything that had happened today, but I didn't want to be a downer. They both looked up from their plates—I guess I hadn't been subtle enough. Apparently, I was wearing a billboard on my back that said Hey, I'm having a bad day so please ask me about it.

"Did something happen today?" Jesse asked.

I groaned. "I don't want to bore you guys. We're having such a nice dinner."

"Tell us!" Laura seemed genuinely interested in my troubles, something I hadn't expected in the least.

"It's Sam again," I said. "He's mad at me about the Jack Teller thing, even though he doesn't know anything about what's going on. He just suspects something is up." I took a bite of pasta, hoping that it would give them a chance to talk, but they didn't. They were both waiting for me. "He got really mean with me today, and it made me feel like shit."

"Wait, what's this about Jack Teller?" Laura was literally on the edge of her seat after scooting toward me.

"We're kind of dating, I guess."

"Jesse, why didn't you tell me? Jack Teller is awesome—and super hot."

I blushed as I awkwardly waited for Jesse to say something and fill the void of silence. "I thought I told you before!"

"No way." Laura sipped her wine, taking a break from eating. "I would have definitely remembered that." I wasn't entirely sure what I was witnessing.

"I can't believe you're still seeing him," Jesse said. "I didn't think it would last."

I was somewhat shocked that he was saying that—well, until I remembered that I hadn't even told him about the gifts thing. I guess I hadn't been around much, and he had warned me to be careful initially. "Why is that?" I asked defensively.

"You know why. He's a rich bachelor."

"Wait, wait. If this is true, it's crazy!" Laura seemed awestruck by everything. "I loved his songs. They helped me get through undergrad. A friend found one ages ago on Napster, and we were hooked after that."

"Dammit," I said. "I need to fill you in on this." I also kind of wished that I knew about Jack's songs. There was so much time available for that in the future, however...

I told them both about the first night—omitting certain salacious details of course—and then how Jack had pursued me with an endless stream of gifts until I gave him another chance. Laura seemed to really enjoy that part, staring at Jesse like she hoped he’d get the hint. And then I got to the Broadway show and the Timothy incident, which I downplayed as much as possible.

They both seemed blown away by the absurd week that I'd just put behind me. Hell, it wasn't even a full week, and still, it was awesome.

"You think he's going to be loyal to you? I told you that I've seen what those guys are capable of." Jesse's words stung a little, but I maintained my composure.

"You know, we've talked about it. And I'm not worried," I said bravely. "I don't want to focus on that part since I'm calling it a non-issue right now." Laura smiled as I said it.

Jesse nodded and then continued to the next line of business. "So Sam thinks you're fucking up his chances at a deal?" Jesse was now donning his