"Naw, we're done here. Let's get this shit packed and loaded so I can get back to my woman. I miss the fuck out of her."
Jerica growls in annoyance, but I tune her out and head for the house. I barely make it to her side before Reggie’s car screeches into the driveway. She clings to my arm, and knowing why they split, I stay put so she won’t have to face him alone. With David here too, maybe we’re enough to keep Reggie in check.
Reggie steps out and glares at us over his car door, and any hope I had blows away with the wind. He’s furious, which is almost funny since he was the one tangled up with his assistant last night. As he storms up the driveway, Jerica presses against my side. Instinctively, I wrap my arm around her waist, holding her close. The tremors running through her tell me just how much this hurts. I’ve seen Charlie in this spot before, and she shook the same way.
My friend is looking to me for protection from the person who hurt her most. I keep her tucked safely under my arm, while her brother stands guard on her other side.
"What the hell is going on, Jerica?" Reggie asks when he comes to a stop in front of us. "Why are you snuggled up to Alek?" His eyes bounce all around in panic, taking in the packed vehicles before coming back to us. "You called, and he came running, huh? If you wanted to be with someone else, you could have just told me. It was only a matter of time. Ever since you told me about your all's conversation that weekend a few years ago, I knew I'd eventually see this day."
I snort, muttering, "Fucking hypocrite."
Jerica’s trembling finally fades, and I sense her courage rising. Before my smirk gets the chance to fully form, my body goes numb, and a chill shoots through me as she turns and presses her lips to mine.
I feel trapped, heavy as if chained, unable to move, as shock floods me. The kiss lasts only seconds, but it stretches into what feels like hours before Jerica pulls away, realizing I haven’t responded.
Her eyes plead with me to play the game with her, and despite the fucking anger I feel, I go along with whatever she's got planned.
A jagged pain rockets through my jaw from clenching my teeth so hard, pulsing into a relentless ache that burrows behind my eyes.
"Please," she whispers. "Just play along. I can't let him see how much he's hurt me."
A wild urge claws at me to just walk away and run home to Hayvin, but loyalty to David and Jerica is stitched too deeply in my bones. I’ve never abandoned them, and I won’t start now, even as every part of me screams to leave.
Jerica spins to face Reggie, then slips back beside me. When I try to pull my arm away, her trembling hand clings to mine, and that small quake makes me sigh and let it stay. I bury my feelings deep, determined not to let Reggie see how much I want to be anywhere but here, and force out the cocky smirk I wore like armor back in college.
"No, babe. You didn't know you'd eventually see this day. You really are a fool if you think I'm going to let you use that as an excuse to fuck Erin," Jerica says.
Reggie's eyes go wide, his face draining of color. His mouth opens and shuts, wordless, like a fish gasping on dry land.
"Oh, there's no sense in trying to use the lame excuses or convenient denials. It's pretty hard to deny something that you hear fucking happening in real time."
"What?" he whispers.
Jerica's laugh is so sharp I'm surprised I don't see little slices against Reggie's skin. "How cute. Your mistress didn't tell you she called me right before you fucked her. For an hour, Reg. I had to listen to you to fuck her for a whole damn hour. Each grunt from you and breathless cry from her are permanently burned into my brain. Thankfully, they also killed the love I'vehad for you for the last five and a half years." She tilts her head and gives a taunting little laugh. "You're right, though. If I wanted to be with someone else, I could tell you, so Reggie, darling, this is me telling you. Go fuck yourself, because I sure as hell won't be doing it anymore."
"Guess it's a good thing J and I already brought out the last of the boxes," David says under his breath.
A cruel smile twists across Reggie's face, a silent warning that whatever comes next will be poison.
"Maybe I'll give Hayvin a call. I'm sure she'll need a shoulder to cry on when she realizes you finally got the one you wanted. Second place sure sucks. Don't worry, Alek. I'll make sure she gets to experience being put first."
The hotter my anger burns, the colder I get. His words echo too close to Hayvin’s and David’s, but they shatter against the ice I’ve built around myself. I let a slow, dangerous smile curl my lips. "Good thing Hayvin always knows what it means to come first. I’d hate for her to be bothered by someone like you."
Reggie chuckles and folds his arms across his chest. "I see. You know, for such a smart guy, you really are a fucking stupid one. I'm one too, so it's easy to recognize another. I have no excuse for what I did, and I won't try to make any. I fucked up, and Jerica is the one who's going to pay the price for it. Seems Hayvin is going to be paying for yours. You're comforting my woman, so it's only right that I go comfort yours. Because something tells me you leaving her for Jerica won't be a choice she'll forgive you for. I might as well go set the rest of our lives on fire, yeah?" He drops his arms and turns toward Jerica. "Believe it or not, I really do love you, and I am sorry. You never deserved it, and I'll never be able to give you a good enough reason for doing it. Take all the time you need to finish up. I won't get in the way, and I won't fight you over anything." And then the motherfucker's eyes come back to me. "Seems I'm going to be busy. I need to gooffer comfort to someone else who's always been second. Just so you know, what you two are doing doesn't make you any better than me."
As he heads for his car, the world blurs into a smear of red on our messy real-life canvas. My heart hammers while his words loop endlessly in my mind.
You're comforting my woman, so it's only right that I go comfort yours.
I'm sure she'll need a shoulder to cry on when she realizes you finally got the one you wanted.
You're comforting my woman.
Right before he gets in, he glances up at me. "You came here too fast, so I know you didn't break it off with Hayvin. Have you tried calling her? Because I bet she doesn't answer. If she were smart, she'd be doing the same thing that J is doing now. Getting the fuck out."
I stand rooted, watching him drive off, his words landing exactly where he aimed. Dread crashes over me, and I’m mentally scrambling for a life jacket, lost in waters I’ve never swum before.
There’s no way in hell his words are true. He’s just trying to dig under my skin, convinced there’s more between me and Jerica than ever existed. Their pain from Reggie’s betrayal is a storm, and they’re dragging me into the chaos. I want no part of it.
