It didn’t change everything.
But it did change some things.
“Any advice before I go ‘once more unto the breach’?” He was the only man I knew who quoted dead playwrights.
“With the girls? Go talk to them. Act like you’re really listening and interested in what they’re saying. Women love that.”
“And here I was wasting my time buying them jewels and flying them to Paris.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as he walked off and started a conversation with Emily F.
Genesis returned with our water and handed one to me. It was cold and perfect and I thanked her.
“That looked serious,” she said.
I didn’t really respond to what she’d observed. I didn’t want to explain. That moment had been between Dante and me, and wasn’t anyone else’s business. Even hers.
“Sorry about earlier. I was feeling a little depressed.”
“Know what helps with that?”
“If you say exercise, I will punch you.”
“I was going to say chocolate and Valium, but exercise really does help.”
Abigail chose that moment to slither past and stopped in front of us. “Do you mind if I join you?’’
I did, on so many different levels and at a staggering intensity.
But before I could tell her to get lost, Dante announced that he had set up a sundae bar for everyone. The table was loaded with all kinds of ice cream flavors, with whipped cream, fudge, caramel, bananas, nuts, anything and everything you could think of to make ice cream taste even better.
Finally, something besides Dante that made my mouth water. Nothing sounded better than ice cream on a hot and glisten-y day like this one.
He might as well have put out bowls of cyanide and arsenic, though, given the women’s reactions. He looked let down. I was sure he had thought this would be a sweet gesture and that the girls would enjoy it.
“Any woman with even a smidgen of self-respect would never put such poison in her body. It says she doesn’t care about herself,” Abigail announced loudly, projecting her voice so that everyone would hear.
I had a brief fantasy of force-feeding Abigail ice cream, one scoop at a time, before deciding to help myself. I grabbed a bowl and made a show of filling it up with chocolate marshmallow and cookies-and-cream flavored ice cream. I put some whipped cream on top and managed to spray some on my hand before I got it in my bowl. I licked the excess off of my fingers, and caught Dante’s gaze.
The way he looked at me made my heart stop.
“Have I ever said how much I adore a woman who isn’t constantly on a diet?”
It felt like he was talking just to me, but there was a mad rush to the table to pile up the ice cream and toppings.
Even poor Jessica R., who hadn’t consumed actual food the entire time we’d been in the house together, took delicate bites from her bowl.
“Lemon! Look!” Genesis came running up behind me, waving something in the air. “I got a one-on-one date!”
I should have been happy for her, but the ice cream in my mouth turned sour.
Chapter 13
Cat got your thumbs? #TooQuiet
Probably the worst part of being on this show was the thumb-twiddling boredom that led to too much time to contemplate what was happening when Dante was out with other women.
When Genesis showed me her date heart, I had been mind-numbingly jealous. Jealous, jealous, and then more jealous. I had to rein it in, calm down, and remind myself that we were friends.
I even helped her get ready for her date.
Yes, I thought it was awfully big of me, too.
Taylor grabbed me for an interview. At least it would make it so I could stop wondering what Dante and Genesis were doing. If he took her dancing and held her close. If they laughed while they scarfed down food. If he held her hand or kissed her or . . .
Augh!
She indicated where I should sit, and then sat in a chair across from me. A camera was pointed directly at my face, and a green screen had been set up behind me.
“Has Sterling called or texted for me?”
“Not yet. I’m sure he will. When he stops being so busy with work.” I didn’t like that he hadn’t reached out yet and tried to apologize. Especially since he didn’t know how much his behavior was driving me away.