“Nothing at all, Wyatt?” I nibble coyly on my thumb and run my eyes down his body. “Not even once or twice?”
He barely spares me a glance to say, “I need you to stay out of this. You’re not helping.”
“Helping?” My laugh is so wild it almost covers the waves of unwelcome grief. He finally confronted Reese about her theft and character assassination. He cracked open the door that had slammed shut between us, letting in a sliver of light that I can now admit I’d been craving for years. But he’s still with her, or at least not as cleanly separated as he claimed, and he’s still saying that our night meant nothing at all?
Fuck. Him.
“Baby, why would I want to help?” I swing my hips on my way over to him and rest a proprietary hand on his chest while I smile at Reese. She’s been lying to his face for their entire relationship; now it’s my turn. “Broken up, not broken up. What difference does it make? I’ve been fucking your boyfriend for years.”
“No.” Wyatt looks at me in utter shock, then snaps his head toward Reese. “God, no.”
The true horror in his voice pisses me off even more, so I trail my fingers down his abdomen. “You’re not very observant, are you, sweetie?” I ask Reese. “He told me I’m the best he’s ever had.“
Wyatt catches my wrist and drags it off him with a hiss. “What are you doing?”
“Or maybe,” I say, ignoring him to continue taunting Reese, “he and I have never fucked. Never even kissed. Maybe I’m just as much a liar as you are. Who can say?”
Reese is still, except for her trembling hands, which she clasps in front of her.
“I’m not going to stand here and watch this. We’re done.” She swings her glittering eyes to me. “Enjoy your whore, CJ. I hope he’s worth it.”
Once she’s gone, Wyatt turns to me, his face twisted in outrage. “Fucking why?”
I’m starting to feel the first stirrings of guilt about my outburst, but when I look at him again, all I can see are the times he refused to listen to me, called me a liar, thought the worst of me. But here we are, caught up in his lies and Reese’s lies, and you know what? I’m fine seeing red and going with it.
“Why? To ruin your life, obviously.” I pat his too-thin cheek, then spin away to call over my shoulder, “That’s what I do, right?”
The pounding of my heart is almost as loud as his ragged breathing as I pull open the door and slam it shut behind me. I thought I could have a conversation with Wyatt that didn’t end in disaster? Who was I kidding?
Leaning against the wall, I crouch and drop my head between my knees until I don’t feel like I’m going to hyperventilate or maybe die. Then I plaster on a smile and go to rejoin my true friends.
Because the guy in the alley is nothing to me. He said so himself.
Fifteen
Now
CJ
* * *
Liv’s already holding her hands up in surrender as she enters the kitchen.
"Before you yell at me," she says, "I had no choice."
I stomp over to my now-former best friend to wave my gloved finger in her face. "You had no choice but to conspire with my biggest enemy?—"
"Second biggest.“ She gestures at the hot pepper factory I’ve got going on behind me.
“—my second-biggest enemy on an elaborate plan that runs parallel to my elaborate plan without mentioning anything to me or trying to stop him or, I dunno, giving either of us a heads-up?"
Liv sucks in her bottom lip, then releases it with a pop.
"Yep," she says. "That's pretty much the long and short of it."
I throw my hands in the air. "Why? I thought we told each other everything.”
“Everything?” Her arched eyebrow shuts me up.
