Discovered by Kim Black Page A

distraction.
    “Hold on a sec?” I said as I grabbed my robe and t hrow it on. “I’ll be right back.”
    Julien nodded his consent but it didn’t reach his eyes . He was obviously disappointed, and though I knew he deserved to know everything, I needed more time.
    There were only two people in the world that would dare to come by at this normally ungodly hour. Diana and Suzie!

EMILY
    I opened the door to find Diana standing at my door with two cups of coffee and a plastic bag labeled ‘Regina’s Pastries.’ There was no doubt it contained my favorite pastries from the best bakery in all of the US, or at least that was my opinion. My mouth watered at the sight of the bag and the sweet smell of Hazelnut Coffee. Diana knew me all too well.
    “Hey! I know it’s early but I wanted to make sure you were doing ok, because I haven’t heard from you. I brought coffee!” she said as she brushed past me and made her way into my kitchen. “I remembered how hard it was on you after Adam. You never left the house! So I decided to check up on you.”
    “Hey D … um… this really isn’t the best time,” I whispered, following her into the kitchen as I nervously glanced at my bedroom door. “I’m kind of in the middle of something really important.”
    “Uh, what’s wrong Em?” she asked, following my gaze to the bedroom , her brows wrinkled in confusion.
    I shifted from one foot to another uncomfortably, trying to figure out how to tell her that the married man that I swore I would never speak to again was now in my bedroom, in my bed, damn near naked, after a long night of good old fashioned hot and steamy sex. Slut much? I know!
    “ Ewwwe… please do not tell me that you shagged some random man just because of that Julien guy.” She said as she looked at me with horror on her face. “Oh Em, he really isn’t even worth it sweety,” she said while grabbing both of my hands, her concern evident in her eyes.
    I rolled my eyes, “Really Diana, you know I wouldn’t do that!” I retorted, still sneaking a glance from the corner of my eyes at my closed bedroom door, wondering what Julien was doing all alone in my room.
    “Oh, well… thank God,” she sighed before dropping her hold on my hands. She placed the coffees on the white kitchen island, sat on the stool, and reached into her bag of treats, pulling out a white chocolate éclair, which was my absolute favorite.
    “Well…” I said, as I tried to stall the inevitable. “Julien’s here… in my room,” my eyes falling to the ground like a child caught by her parents who’d been out of town and came home early to find some horny teenage boy deflowering their daughter. It was silly that at that moment I felt a little ashamed. I mean, I am a grown woman and I shouldn’t have to explain myself to anyone, married or not but… I was in fact… ashamed.
    “W hat! I thought you said he was married,” she shouted, her eyes wide with disapproval.
    “Shhh… yes he is married but it ’s not a real marriage, I’ll explain later.” I whispered while pulling her away from the kitchen, urging her into the living room, a few feet farther away from my room and hopefully far from Julien’s range of hearing.
    “Not a real marriage? Oh, he’s playing you sweety. Can’t you see that?” she babbled as she stared at me with saddened eyes and disappointment etched all over her face.
    I didn’t really expect Diana to understand the situation, especially since I didn’t quite fully understand it myself. Diana was the good girl of the group. She was always the voice of reason and encouraged me every time I found myself in a hard spot. She was safe and very different from Suzie. While Suzie was full of life and lived a Carpe Diem lifestyle, Diana was responsible and planned every aspect of her life. The three of us were completely different but loved each other something fierce.
    “Can you just keep your voice down,” I urged , but just as I said that, Julien