What if she’s still seeing other guys?
We had never talked about being exclusive. Not once. I had assumed. Fuck, I had assumed. I hated the bubbling nausea threatening to rise, my dinner churning violently in my stomach. If she was sleeping with someone else, if this was just another game to her…
I didn’t let myself finish the thought.
Logan cleared his throat as I pulled up to our place, giving me a long, assessing look. “Are you sure? The text said to trust her.”
“I’m not sure I can after our past. Not with this blatant lie.” My jaw clenched, my molars grinding against each other in a painful vibration. “Why did I have to fucking fall for the most difficult woman?”
Logan laughed as he shut the door, but his expression softened slightly. “That’s how life works, man. Don’t be an idiot or an asshole tonight. There are always two sides to a story.”
I didn’t respond. Two sides to a story, my ass. If she had told me two years ago that she had feelings for me, I would’ve done whatever I could to keep us going. She had made the decision to keep that from me without including me in the choice.
And now? Now she was doing it again.
I sped toward her place, my hands tight on the wheel, my mind a blur of images and possibilities that made me sick. The second I pulled into her apartment complex and saw her car sitting in the lot, my stomach dropped.
Lie number two.
She had said she wasn’t home.
I took her stairs three at a time and pounded on the door, my breath ragged, uneven. Someone moved around inside, and for what felt like an eternity, I stood there, heart hammering, waiting for her to answer.
Finally, the door cracked open, the chain still locked in place.
Her face was a mixture of shock and something else—panic.
Her lips parted, her eyes flicking past me toward the road, as if she was expecting someone. Why did she look afraid?
I should have noticed that first. But I didn’t, because all I could focus on was the fact that she had lied to me.
"Michelle."
“Brooks, why are you—what are you doing? You need to go.”
My stomach twisted into a tight, painful knot. "Why?"
I wanted to kiss the shit out of her or shake the truth out of her, and it was a terrible combination of anger and desperation, one I had no idea how to control. I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep from grabbing her, from demanding answers.
“Why did you lie to me twice? I’m struggling right now, Mitch and I really need an answer.”
Her mouth opened and closed, but she didn’t answer right away. She looked wrecked, like she hadn’t slept in days, like something was eating her alive. But still, she wouldn’t tell me.
She was hiding something.
“It’s complicated, okay?” Her frown deepened, and I watched the walls go up in real-time.
"Are you seeing someone else?" The words tasted like acid, and I hated that I had to ask. "Is that what this is about? You didn’t call off your flings with other men?” My voice rose into dangerous territory, and she flinched.
She didn’t answer.
My chest felt like it was caving in.
“Will you let me in so we can talk?”
She shook her head, her fingers tightening on the edge of the door like she needed it to keep herself upright. “No.”
The denial hit harder than I expected.
