In the short time they'd been friends, Liam and Katya had gotten pretty close. He felt like he'd known her pretty well, could guess how she'd react to certain things. So to say he was shocked with how easily she'd cut him out of her life would be an understatement.
Yes, he'd done an awful thing. He'd lied and manipulated and just generally been a bastard. But still. Friends forgave each other, that's what they did. He considered Katya to be a very good friend. A best friend, even. It was killing him, not being able to see her and talk to her. How could she just let him go?
Of course, maybe it wasn't so simple. Clearly, the profile was in retaliation to what he and Wulfric Stone had done to her. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and apparently a woman who was manipulated into sleeping with two men at once could get furious enough to sleep with a lot of other men to get revenge.
Liam groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. What to do? He glanced at his phone. He hadn't spoken to Wulf since the day Katya had walked in on them talking about her. Since she'd discovered that they knew each other and had only been pretending they didn't.
Liam could admit it, Wulf was more decisive. Wulf was more likely to take action. He would want to know about Katya's profile, and he would want to do something about it. Would have ideas on what to do about it.
But Liam was competitive by nature. Both he and Wulf had started sleeping with Katya around the same time. It had turned into somewhat of a game, who could get her to do what. Then it had evolved into who could win her, and though it killed Liam to say it, Wulf had definitely been winning.
So if he called Wulf, and the other man came up with some great plan to make her see the light, it might only serve to make her see that Wulf was the one for her. And Liam refused to believe that. Katya was light and love and happiness. She deserved someone who would cherish those parts of her. Someone who would devote his life to making her smile. And he just knew Wulfric Stone wasn't that person.
No. No, I can do this on my own. I'm smart, I can figure out a way. I can do something. I don't need him, and neither does she.
Liam pushed up his sleeves and leaned forward again. Began typing on the keyboard. He may not have been as smart or as rich or as impressive as Wulf, but he had a couple tricks up his sleeve. He may have lost the first battle, but he wouldn't lose the war.
It's not over yet, angel cake.
4
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Katya turned around at the sound of her roommate's voice.
Tori Bellows stood in the hallway, picking at her nail polish. It was six o'clock, but she was already in fishnets, tight shorts, and a cropped vest. Dressed for work at Liam's club. She had the body to pull it off, and the attitude to make sure people kept their hands to themselves.
“Of course, I already paid for my ticket,” Katya replied, turning back to the mirror and smoothing her hands over her outfit.
“You know what I mean. You're not proving anything, you know. Neither of them even call anymore. They have no clue you've gone on dates with half the men in San Francisco,” Tori was blunt. Katya winced, but wasn't mad. They were complete opposites and had been friends for years. Tori's rough edges worked well with Katya's soft tones. They balanced each other.
“It's not about them,” she responded, her voice calm. “This is about me. Proving something to myself.”
“What? That you can be just as big a skank as the rest of the girls out there?”
“Maybe. Or maybe that I can go out and find a man without it being some elaborate hoax. That I can be sexy and appealing without some great charade. That I can … I can control who I see, and what I do with them,” she finished.
Tori grumbled, but it was hard to argue with someone trying to find their independence. After a minute, though, she found a way.
“See,” she sighed. “I would agree with you, normally. I'm all for you being in charge and whatever. You literally could sleep with half of San Francisco, and I wouldn't judge you. Hell, I'd throw you a party. IF that's what you really wanted for yourself. But I don't think that's what you want. I don't think you even want to do this speed-dating thing, and that I won't throw a party for. That I will totally judge you for.”
Katya paused for a long moment, staring at her friend. The other girl was still looking at her hands, picking the black polish apart.
“It's sort of for me,” Katya whispered, then cleared her throat. “And yeah, sort of because of them. They … they stole something from me. I'm just trying to get it back.”
“Oh, honey,” Tori hurried into the room. “You won't find it out there, with some random dude. You've still got it. You just need to give yourself a chance to get over those guys. Heal a little bit. Realize it was never about them. You went on that first date. You made that first move. Nothing that happened after can ever take that away from you.”
Katya took a deep breath and stepped sideways. She could feel the impending hug, and if they hugged, she'd start crying, and she wouldn't ever stop. She laughed and patted at her hair, making sure it was all in place.
“I know, I know. Just let me wallow for a little while longer. The male attention is good for my ego.”
“Kat-”
“Seriously. I'd already planned on deactivating that stupid account after tonight. I committed to being at this event, I don't want them to be short a girl just because I make shitty choices. I'm gonna go and have fun and score some free drinks. Then tomorrow it's back to life as normal,” she assured her friend.
“Well, hopefully not too normal. New-Katya was fun. You don't need to serial date everyone on a dating app to find a man. Going clubbing with your bestie works pretty good, too,” Tori laughed.
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
She almost got out the door unscathed, but Tori surprised her by following her into the hallway and jumping on her. They crashed into a wall and Katya couldn't help but laugh. Probably her first real laugh in weeks.
I don't deserve such a good friend.
She actually felt good as she took a taxi across town. Tori had made sense – Katya wasn't really proving anything to anyone. She was just forcing herself to be something she wasn't. She didn't have to go back to being old-Katya, but she didn't have to always be new-Katya, either.
And the best part, she finally felt like neither of those personalities needed Liam or Wulf. Sure, she missed them and hated that she missed them and kind of wished dysentery on both of them. But she wouldn't let them control her anymore, not even in absentia.
When she got to the event, Katya was actually impressed. It was held on a rooftop terrace. It was cold out, but there were lots of outdoor heaters and cute little gas fireplaces. Singles mingled all over the place, enjoying cocktails at the open bar. She realized she was one of the last to arrive, almost half an hour late, and she'd barely grabbed a Cosmo before someone started tapping on a microphone. She turned towards the stage and watched as a blonde woman cleared her throat.