“I amnotyour man. Not now. Not ever. I look at you and feel nothing but sick. That woman who just left is the one I should have been with the entire time I was with you. If you ever come near me or my place of business again, I will have you arrested. Now get the fuck out.”
Jenna looked stunned. I thought maybe I’d finally gotten through to her, but she was like a bad piece of tape that’s stuck to your finger. As much as you try to shake it off, it only sticks more.
“Fine.” Jenna huffed again, then gathered her purse and glared at me. “I’ll find you when you’re not in such a bad mood.” She slithered out the door. I was so filled with rage that I grabbed the stapler off my desk and threw it against the wall, shattering it to pieces just as Jack came back into the office.
“Does this have something to do with Elvira passing me on the way in? You all right?” Jack pursed his lips as I shook my head.
“She climbed on top of me and tried to shove her tongue down my throat at the exact moment Paige walked in. Jenna ran into her and Ellie earlier today and found out Paige and I were together, so she came back here to—”
“Make trouble, as usual.” Jack shook his head and let out a long sigh. “You’d better go find Paige. Given her history and what she just saw, she’s going to believe the worst and run.”
“She already ran. She told me anything she did for us she’d bring to your house so I wouldn’t have to see her. Fuck, Jack! I just got her! What the hell am I supposed to do?” I rubbed my hands over my head as I slumped in my chair, I wished I had my hair back so I could pull it out.
“Get her back. You’re wasting time talking to me. Take an early day today. I’ll cover everything. The longer you wait the harder it’s going to be. Go!” Jack stepped over to my desk and shoved my shoulder.
“Thanks, bro.” I sprinted towards the door.
“No problem, and Ev? Take a pillow. You may be on her stoop all night.”
“Haha, very funny.” I turned to face Jack, but he wasn’t laughing.Shit, this was bad.
Paige belonged to me, and I would do whatever I had to do, even if it meant sleeping outside her apartment, to show her that, from the beginning, I belonged to her, too.
Nine
Paige
Stupid,stupid idiot.I had done it again. Maybe there was no such thing as a nice guy, aside from the men in my family. The second I’d learned about Jenna’s connection to Evan, I knew, soknew—that this would happen. I never believed in instalove, but given the fact we had known each other most of our lives, I was really starting to fall for Evan. All the sweet things he’d said and done, I couldn’t believe he was just like the rest, but I had seen it with my own eyes. I drove around in circles until I calmed down enough to park my car and walk to my apartment.
Someone was sitting on my stoop, and as I got closer, I shook my head in disbelief. Today was getting better and better.
“Chris? What the hell are you doing here?” I was so not in the mood for this today. I had already dealt with one cheater, I had no desire to deal with the last one, too. Chris stood with his hands in his pockets, trying his hardest to look contrite which only pissed me off even more.
“It’s over. Coral and I are finished. I’m so sorry, Paige. I never should have started anything with her. I miss you so much.” His dirty blond hair was a disheveled mess and his face looked haggard. I found it hard to believe that after all this time, Chris was back because he still loved me and was sorry. My guess was his sudden change of heart had more to do with his lack of a place to stay rather than missing me.
I dropped my face to my hands and pinched the bridge of my nose. Getting out of bed today was the absolute worst mistake I’d ever made.
“All those months ago, I caught you fucking Coral, and you told me it was because we were ‘missing something’. Now, all of a sudden you’ve found it and want to come back? No. I will never take you back, ever. We can’t even be friends because carrying on a conversation with you makes me want to vomit. You are a pathetic excuse for a human being, much less a man. It’s not my problem she probably threw your ass out.”
I stepped over him to unlock my door and he grabbed my arm.
“You always hold grudges. You can never forgive anyone. I’m here, telling you I was wrong and asking to come back, and you’re being a total bitch. Come on, Paige. You know I love you. Coral was just…an itch to scratch. It’s you I was meant to be with. Please.” He wrapped his arms around me as he crooned in my ear, and I thought for sure my head would explode. I pushed him away and he fell backwards off my front steps.
“Leave. Now. I have nothing more to say to you.” I turned my back to Chris and opened my door, but Chris climbed back up the stairs to grab my arm and twisted me around to face him again.
“What the hell is the matter with you? Why aren’t you listening to—” Chris let go of my arm and it sounded like he fell behind me. I thought maybe he tripped, but I turned around to see Evan standing over him. His face was twisted with a rage I’d never seen before as he clutched the collar of Chris’s shirt. Chris was still laying on the ground as Evan towered over him.
“She said to leave her alone. She’s with me now, so just keep fucking walking.” He threw Chris across the sidewalk. I was about to say he sure as hell wasn’t with me today, but maybe this would scare Chris off. Evan had almost five inches on him and a good twenty pounds of muscle. Chris was a scrawny thing, and Evan could knock him into next week without breaking a sweat.
“Fine. If you want to spend time with your cousin’s musclehead friend, go ahead. You’ll regret this later on.” Chris raised his eyebrows at me, and I truly laughed for the first time since I’d set eyes on Jenna.
“I’ll take my chances. Have a nice life.” I waved, and turned back to the door to step into my apartment. I was heading straight to a jar of Nutella and a spoon as soon as I made it inside.
I craned my head at Evan standing behind me. I didn’t want to make full eye contact.
“How long have you been here?” Evan put his hands in his pockets and shrugged in reply.
“I came straight here after you ran out. I stayed in the truck until I saw you park your car. We need to talk.” Evan’s low timbre made me stumble, but I had the image of Jenna kissing him burned into my brain. I truly cared about him, and that meant he had the power to really hurt me —like he’d done today. I needed to walk away if I had any sense of self-preservation.
