And that right there says everything.
I exit the bathroom and head down the hallway just as a tall figure steps in front of me. Startled, I let out a squeak as my eyes lift and find Perry standing in my way.
Ahh, of course. He couldn’t make it easy, could he?
“Sorry, did I startle you?” he asks.
“Yes,” I answer, hand to chest.
“Excuse me,” a lady says from behind. Perry grips my arms and moves me to the side so I’m up against the wall, and he’s in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I wanted to talk to you without your bodyguard.”
“He’s not my bodyguard, Perry,” I say with an eye roll, even though he kind of is.
“He can’t be your boyfriend. There’s no way you moved on that quickly unless you were cheating on me.”
My eyes narrow. “I would never, and the fact that you’re even accusing me of that is proof that you didn’t know me as well as I thought you did.”
He pushes his hand through his hair in distress. “You’re right, that was uncalled for. I’m sorry. I’m just . . . fuck, Blakely, I’m confused.”
“What are you confused about?”
“What am I confused about?” he asks as if it’s not so blatantly obvious. “How about how you could move on so fucking quickly?”
“Did you expect me to sit back and mourn while you lived your life in Australia? Perry, you were the one who decided to leave. You were the one who wanted to break up.”
“I didn’t want to break up. I wanted you to want to be with me.”
“And I did,” I say, keeping my voice low so as not to cause a scene. “But I told you, I didn’t want to move. My life and job are here.”
“Which are more important than I am.”
“Perry, you chose a job and a new country over me . . . how is that any different from me choosing my job and my comfort? It’s not. And now you’re coming back, so was it worth it?”
“It wasn’t,” he says, moving in on me. “I realized that the fucking moment I arrived in Australia. I thought that maybe I was just nervous, but the more time I spent there without you, I knew I made a goddamn mistake. That’s why I’m back.” He smooths his hand up my arm. “It’s why I want you—”
“I suggest you remove your hand from my girl before I fucking do it for you,” Halsey says just as he comes into view. And oh my God, does he look furious.
Perry looks over his shoulder but doesn’t stop touching me. “I was with her ever since college. I reserve the right to talk to her alone.”
“You reserve the right to talk to her,” Halsey says right before pushing Perry’s hand off me. “But you sure as fuck don’t reserve the right to touch her.” Halsey approaches, towering over Perry and me, and pulls me into his side. “Especially when she belongs to me.”
Perry shakes his head and takes a step back. He then gestures to Halsey and says, “You like this? You like this sort of asshole behavior? Jesus fuck, Blakely. What happened to you? I leave for just over a month, and you lose your goddamn—”
Before Perry can finish, Halsey has him by the collar of his shirt, pressing him against the wall, which startles the few people heading to the bathrooms.
“Halsey,” I say, startled and scared at the same time.
“Watch what you fucking say to her,” Halsey seethes. “Nothing is wrong with her. She’s perfect, and you’re the douche who didn’t realize it. So leave her the fuck alone, or next time, this isn’t going to end with you only walking away with some broken pride.”
Halsey releases him, then grabs my hand and tugs me toward the dining room. We head straight to our table, where he picks up my clutch and hands it to me.
He pulls me in close and speaks directly to my ear. “I can’t fucking stay here with him lurking. If you want to leave, I’m leaving now. If you want to stay, you can stay. But . . . I . . . I can’t.”
I can feel him shaking with anger, and I’m not sure what has gotten into him or made him this charged up, but I do know I don’t want to stay here without him.
