The Heart System Chapter 904

Tessa unlocked the door and stepped inside, Mik nestled in her arms, purring happily. Once she closed the door behind her, she set the cat down and yawned.

"Hey, guys," she said. "I’ll be right back. I need to wash her paws, then... mine."

"Don’t be late!" Jasmine called back.

The food was good, the apartment was warm, and the snow outside made the whole morning feel quieter than usual. I took another bite and leaned back slightly, enjoying the scene.

"So," Jasmine suddenly said, "did I ever tell you guys about Victor Hale’s phone?"

Nala looked up from her food. "What about it?"

"I saw his wallpaper yesterday."

"And?"

Jasmine grinned. "It wasn’t his fiancée."

Kayla immediately looked interested. "Wait, what?"

"Exactly."

Eleanor laughed. "You saw some random woman on his phone?"

"Not just some random woman. She was definitely not his fiancée."

"Maybe it was his sister," Kim suggested.

"Nope."

"Friend?"

"Nope."

"Cousin?"

"Nope."

Jasmine pointed her fork at everyone. "You people aren’t getting it. It was a picture of a woman posing in front of a mirror, and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t wearing much."

Kayla covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"What did he do when you saw it?" Nala asked.

"He nearly dropped his phone." Jasmine laughed. "Then he tried to tell me it was some old picture he forgot to change."

Everyone laughed.

I took another bite and looked around the table again.

For all the chaos that seemed to follow me everywhere, mornings like this were nice. Everyone was together, nobody was yelling, nobody was trying to kill me, and the only problem we had at the moment was figuring out whose turn it was to do the dishes.

I could live with that.

? ? ?

Well, here I was. Nine in the morning, standing in front of Mendy’s house. I hadn’t wanted to talk to her on the phone, I was pretty sure she would have just ignored the call. Face-to-face felt better anyway. I wasn’t going to make excuses about why she had caught me fucking her best friend. I was going to man up and apologize.

It probably wouldn’t end well for me. I honestly couldn’t see a version of this conversation that ended well. She had seen something she wasn’t supposed to see, and the blame for that was entirely on me. I should have told her about whatever was going on between me and Penelope from the start.

"Here goes nothing."

I knocked on the door and took a step back. I was nervous as hell. I was expecting the worst. As long as she didn’t grab a knife and stab me, I figured I could live with whatever came next. The bar for "weird" had gotten pretty low after everything with Cora. Strange women seemed to be a recurring theme in my life. Hooray.

Footsteps approached from inside. I straightened my posture, fixed my work uniform, and took a deep breath. A few seconds later the door opened.

A sleepy Mendy stood there. She was wearing an oversized, soft-looking t-shirt that hung off one shoulder, the thin fabric doing almost nothing to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra. The hem of the shirt barely reached the tops of her thighs, leaving the smooth length of her legs bare. Her hair was messy from sleep, and there was still a faint crease on one cheek from the pillow. Even like this, half-awake, no makeup, clothes that looked like she’d just rolled out of bed, she looked quietly, unintentionally hot.

"Hey," I said. "Uh, Mendy."

"Evan." Her voice was calm, still rough from sleep. "Hey."

"Um... I thought I’d drop by and... I don’t know, talk?"

"Mmh."

Okay. She didn’t sound angry. That was something. We weren’t dating, so she technically had no reason to be furious with me. Still, she had every right to be upset that I’d hidden whatever was happening with Penelope. Penelope was her best friend. Catching us like that, fucking like animals, had to have felt like a betrayal. This was all on me.

"I want to apologize," I said finally. "I should have told you that Penelope and I were... fooling around."

"Fooling around." She exhaled. "That’s it?"

Ah, fuck. Four points lost. At least I was still sitting at twenty with her. There was still some room to work with. No more trying to be clever or play the situation. I was just going to tell her the truth.

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WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

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Jasmine: Interest: 45 / 60

Kayla: Interest: 38 / 40

Tessa: Interest: 50 / 60

Kim: Interest: 100 / 100

Delilah: Interest: 100 / 100

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100

Mendy: Interest: 20 / 40

Nala: Interest: 100 / 100

Penelope: Interest: 29 / 40

Minne: Interest: 38 / 40

Ivy: Interest: 25 / 80

Eleanor: Interest: 100 / 40

Amelia: Interest: 14 / 20

Esme: Interest: 72 / 80

Carrie: Interest: 4 / 20

Layla: Interest: 29 / 40

Emma: Interest: 20 / 40

Sophia: Interest: 6/20

Vessa: Interest: 5/20

══════════════════

"I should have told you," I said with a small nod. "And I apologize, Mendy."

"How long have you and Penelope been together?"

"We’re not together," I said. "We’re just... friends. That’s it. We’re not dating."

"Yes. She has a boyfriend." Mendy’s voice stayed even. "Look, Evan, I know you’re in an open relationship. I’m not mad about that. But you know what I went through with Richard. How she cheated on me."

"Yes."

"And now think about her boyfriend." She shook her head. "Can you imagine how he’d feel if he found out? How sad, how angry. Why would you do something like that?"

"You’re right."

"We’re not a couple. I can’t get angry about who you sleep with, and you can’t tell me who I can date." She met my eyes. "But what I can tell you is to have some common sense. Stop seeing Penelope. She has a boyfriend."

"You’re right. I’m sorry."

"I’m just disappointed." She shook her head again. "I thought you were different from the others. Different from Richard. But you did the same thing he did."

"I’m nothing like Rich," I said quietly. "You know that."

"I’m sorry, Evan. I should go now." She took a step back. "See you."

"I... okay." I let out a quiet breath. "Thanks for at least listening to me, Mendy."

"Mm. Bye."

"Yep."