His jaw tightens and a sudden rush of helplessness sinks into the pit of my stomach. How is it possible that we can’t even talk to each other—that every word feels awkward and strained? I just want to scream.
I choke out a bitter laugh. “So, this is really it? This is the end of us—our relationship—our friendship? This…” I gesture my hand between the both of us. “This is what we’re going to be like now?”
“You’re going to do this here? Right now?” He leans in and speaks in hushed tones, eyeing the couples sitting on both sides of us.
“When else?” I ask, throwing my hands up into the air. I’m too emotional. I know this isn’t the right time or place, but I can’t stop, I want to fight this out with him. Kick and scream and then rip at each other’s clothes. I don’t want us to stop fighting until we’re back together again and we’re Dex and Jane.
Because we were good together.
“Nash, you blocked me from callingyou, remember?” he growls.
“I didn’t have my phone!” My tone is high-pitched, and the couples around us start quieting their own conversations to listen in to ours.
“Right,” he breathes out in a huff.
“And the very minute I got it back, I FaceTimed you and guess where your tongue was?” I snap, waving my hands in the air.
“Nowhere it wanted to be, believe me.” His voice is harsh and disgusted.
“Well, it sure as hell looked like you were enjoying yourself from where I was sitting,” I spit, rolling up my sleeves. In my head I hear the ding-ding-ding of a boxing match ready to begin.
Dex leans in closer, his features twisting sharply. “What difference would it have made to you? You and me weren’t a thing anymore. Remember?”
More people have stopped talking to their dates to listen to ours. I can almost feel the heat of their stares.
“Theonlyreason we were no longer a thing was becauseyoublamedmefor everything that happened with Stephanie and Olivia, when in truth it had nothing to do with me.” I might have said that way too loudly—definitely too bitchy for my taste, but it’s out there now echoing between us.
“It had everything to do with you!” he shouts.Ding-ding-ding. In the corner on my right, wearing the dark blue boxing shorts is Declan “The One” Vanstone.
Everyone in the room is quiet now and the only sound isMerrydeath’sclickity-clacking heels as she runs toward us like a referee.
I bolt up out of my chair and slam my hands down on the table. “We were in a relationship when you told me your ex had a baby. You stood me up for my birthday and didn’t even apologize.” Merry-death is ringing her stupid gong, and I lock eyes with her and hold up my finger. “Merry-death, if you clang that at me one more time, I’m going to shove it so far up somewhere, you’ll hear it every time you sit down.”
The place gasps and I lose all the fucks I had to give.
I drop my glare back down to Dex and point my finger at him. “I forgave you for all of it.All of it. I even waited for you, stupidly thinking that I could be a supportive girlfriend and help co-parent with you and Stephanie. But you never even told her about me!” I’m pretty loud now, high in the embarrassing, screeching decibel arena of sound.
“That’s not exactly true—”
I cut him right off. I’m not done shouting yet. “Thenyou blamed me when the paternity test came back that you weren’t even the father. You blamedmeforherblatant lie. She was the one who fucked with your emotions, Dex, not me. Yet, you still stuck up for her and you said the worst things you could to me. You used your words like weapons on me andyou didn’tcut clean at all!” I scream.
He stood up slowly leaning his palms on the table. “I didn’t mean all the mean things I said, but I didn’t understand how you could not know that. How could you not realize I was lashing out because I was in pain? It was hard to deal with all of it and knowing you were the catalyst.”
“I was never the catalyst! Stephanie was by keeping a pregnancy from you and waiting until the last minute to pretend it was yours.”
We stare at each other. I’m so furious I can barely breathe. He doesn’t look too much better. “You came across sounding like a jealous girlfriend—”
“Who in their right mind wouldn’t if put in that situation? I thought I was being the voice of reason! She cheated on you, and a year later she’s having your baby? Your life was a parody for a daytime talk show, Dex. Doesn’t it sound absurd to you now?”
“Well, now it does!” he roars. “But I asked you for time. Time to figure things out.”
“And I gave it to you!”
“No. Then you were gone. You didn’t answer your phone, emails, texts. You left.”
“And after four measly days of not hearing from me, the first time you do—you’re drunk on a yacht kissing some girl you promised me you’d never be with.”
“You ghosted me, and that time that stretched out between us, it was much worse than the distance of you being across the world from me. You have no fucking clue how alone I felt!”
