Two days later, Constance dragged herself to the door, wondering what the incessant pounding was.

“What the hell!”

Lexi’s smiling face greeted Constance when she pulled open the door.

“You sound like crap, but there’s nothing sesame chicken and tequila won’t cure,” Lexi said lifting two bags.

“Ugh. That sounds like a sinful combination. You get the plates. I’ll get the shot glasses,” Constance said.

Lexi laughed and then came in and Constance closed and locked the door behind her.

She wasn’t really in the best of moods, but forty-eight hours spent crying, missing Milo, and drifting into sleep had been more than enough.

“Is this a Milo-related disaster?” Lexi asked as she put a plate in front of Constance and took one of the glasses.

“Am I that obvious?” Constance asked, taking a swig of the tequila and letting the liquor burn down her throat.

“No. He’s just that much of an asshole,” Lexi said, taking a shot of her own.

“He’s not that bad…” The defense had come naturally, but given what had transpired, Constance didn’t have the heart to continue it. “He is that bad,” she said.

“What happened?” Lexi asked, frowning.

“Lex, you won’t believe what I did,” Constance said.

“So you two finally got it on?” Lexi said, as she shoveled a forkful of sesame chicken into her mouth.

Constance looked up. “Finally?”

Lexi snickered and said, “‘Finally’ she says as if I’m blind. I might have been a virgin, Constance, but I’m not a fool. There’s no other reason you would put up with that man’s crap. There’s no other reason he would so relish giving it to you.”

“I should deny it, but how can I?”

“So what happened?” Lexi asked.

“He heard something I said about needing to get laid,” Constance said, a blush creeping up her neck.

“And that led to hot sex in every corner of that ridiculously large office of his?” Lexi said on a giggle.

When Constance didn’t speak, Lexi’s smile dropped. “You’re joking. You’re not joking,” she said.

“Nope,” Constance said, still unable to believe it.

“Oh God. It was awesome, right?” Lexi said.

“Beyond,” Constance said, unable to deny the fact.

“So what did he do to screw it up?” Lexi asked.

“It wasn’t him. It was probably me. But I heard him talking to Val. He said it was nothing. That we were nothing,” Constance said.

“Yikes.”

“Exactly. I might have overreacted and quit on the spot,” Constance said.

Lexi shook her head. “You didn’t overreact. That asshole can say that kind of thing and make you think he believes it, and you don’t need to deal with that.”

“But I need a job, Lex,” Constance said.

“Easy enough. Callahan’s looking for somebody at the Palace,” she said, referencing a local restaurant and bar that they often went to.

“I don’t know how to be a waitress. And can I support myself doing that?”

“I’m sure you can figure it out. And it’s just something to do until you find another job. And with your skills, that won’t be long. But if that jerk can’t acknowledge you, you did the right thing walking out. And Eric and I have a spare bedroom,” she said.

Constance frowned.

“What?” Lexi asked.

“I can’t think of anything worse than living in the midst of you guys and your obnoxious love bubble,” Constance said, frowning.

Lexi smiled. “It is obnoxious?”

“Incredibly,” Constance said.

She laughed and took another sip of tequila. She didn’t begrudge her friend her happiness, welcomed it in fact, and she was glad Lexi had found her love with her new husband Eric.

Constance took another sip of tequila and ate her dinner, and as she did she came to a decision.

She’d cried for Milo for two days but she wouldn’t cry for him anymore. It was time to figure out how to live her life.

Without Milo.