HARRY STYLES
"A sex tape?" Zayn is beaming as we clean the counter with sudsy sponges together. "This girl isn't real, H."
I laugh, only feeling comfortable enough to talk about it now that all the other chefs have gone home. "I couldn't believe she suggested it."
"Have you watched it yet?"
"No, I've been with her," I explain. "It's my week with Jane, so she'll be at mine for the week as well. No need to watch if I've got the real thing."
"Jesus, mate," he chuckles to himself. "It's like I don't even know who you are and it's such a great thing."
"Oh, thanks," I scoff as he shakes his head to explain.
"Do you even remember how miserable you were with Allison? How many nights you slept with your head on your desk because you didn't want to go home and have her yell at you? And do you remember what I told you?"
Jokes aside now, I stop wiping the counter and recall that conversation. "You told me that I should be with someone who makes me excited to leave the job that I'm obsessed with."
"And?"
I nod, using a damp dish towel to finish cleaning the counters. "I found her."
"Crazy how that works, yeah?"
"Well, what about you?" I toss the dish towel in the hamper by the lockers. "Maya's still working out?"
"Definitely," he smirks. "It's working out very well."
"Good," I walk over to the sink to wash my hands. "I'm sure Jane's been asleep for a while now, but I'm going to try and catch Lana before she passes out. She's sort of on my schedule now."
"Sucks to be her," he makes a tsk sound as we leave through the back door together.
"Yeah, it's not ideal," I agree in a mumble. "I'll see you tomorrow."
We start heading in different directions down the sidewalk, and I feel more and more anxious to just be in bed with Lana every step I take. It's like my legs are getting heavier the closer I get until I'm finally entering the code to get in the building and start climbing the stairs.
As I pass Carter's unit, I wonder if Lana ever told him about us or if she just ghosted him. I've been meaning to ask her but I also don't particularly enjoy bringing him up. I know what they had was short-lived and unserious, but I still don't like to imagine the two of them together in any way.
Trying to be quiet, I unlock the door and expect to see the kitchen light on just to find that it's pitch black inside. I flip the switch by the door and look over at the couch, but it looks like Lana and Jane didn't fall asleep there together the way they sometimes do.
After stepping out of my shoes, I hear the floorboards creak under my steps as I go to open my bedroom door and expect to see Lana in my bed. When she's not, my brows knit together as I go across the hall to check her bedroom. She's not there either.
"What the fuck?" I don't bother whispering because if Lana isn't here, that means Jane can't be here. I find that to be true as I swing her door open next.
Panicking now, I rip my phone from my back pocket and my thumbs fumble to unlock it. It's still on Do Not Disturb the way it always is when I'm working, but I can see two silent text notifications that I missed. They're both from Allison and they both came in just twenty minutes ago.
Allison: If you don't already know, Jane is with me and that's going to be the new normal from now on
Allison: You're fucking dead to me
