One evening I waited outside the library for her to appear, nervous about how I’d be received. I knew it wouldn’t be good, but I was hoping just seeing me would remind her of how much she loved me.
She was halfway down the stairs when she saw me. She stopped walking, and I could see that she was about to run off.
I hurried over before she could escape. “I want to talk to you. I want to explain what happened.”
“I think I’ve figured that out,” she said sarcastically.
“But you don’t understand! I didn’t even know about the videos. And she only released them because I ended things with her.I ended things. I chose you.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she asked, bitterly. “There shouldn’t have been a choice, Harrison! Because you were supposed to choose mebeforeyou fucked her.”
Shit. That was a good point. Sadie’s eyes were getting glassy. I didn’t want her to start crying. That’s not what this was about. I just wanted to make her understand things from my point of view.
“I know you ended things right as you knew I was coming back to town. Would it have gone on longer if I’d been away longer?”
“No… I… I don’t know.” Damn. I wasn’t helping myself out here. I scrubbed a hand over my face, frustrated.
Angry tears started to fall from her eyes, and she wiped them away harshly. “I don’t know who you are, but you arenotthe person I fell in love with.”
“Don’t say that. I’m still me. You just don’t understand how hard it is, Sunshine! Hot women are throwing themselves at me every day, and I’m so fucking horny all the time, and you weren’t here this summer, and I watched everyone else on the team go through about ten girls each this summer.”
She looked… disgusted. That hadn’t been what I was going for. “You don’t think guys hit on me daily? Because they do. And some of them are tempting. They’re very good-looking, and they look at me like I’m the most beautiful girl in the world. You used to look at me like that. But you haven’t in a while now.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. “You know what I chose every single time a guy hit on me? You. I chose you and the life we planned together. You chose the kind of woman who takes videos without your consent and posts them on social media.”
I didn’t want to think about guys hitting on her. And it didn’t make me look good to know she withstood temptation just fine. I ran a hand through my hair, still wet from the shower I took after practice. “She blackmailed me,” I blurted out.
Sadie stared at me. “What?”
“She said she wouldn’t tell you about the cheating if I’d pay for breast implants for her with my NIL money. I said no. I didn’t think she was serious. I should’ve just done it…”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew I’d fucked up.
She looked at me in disbelief. “You wish you’d paid for a boob job for her so that I’d still be in the dark about what was going on? You’re pathetic.”
“That’s not what I meant. I guess I just wanted you to know what I was up against with her…”
“You mean the girl I warned you about? The one you swore was just a friend even when I told you she wanted you?”
“Yeah. I should have listened to you.” I stared at her. Her eyes had a look in them I’d never seen before. It was scaring me.
I reached for her. “Sadie, please…”
“Don’t touch me, you sick son of a bitch! I never want to see you or talk to you again in my entire life.”
My mouth hung open. I’d heard Sadie curse more in the past few days than the rest of our lives put together. I’d driven her to that. “You can’t mean that… I still love you, Sadie.”
She laughed without mirth. “If that’s the way you treat someone you love, I’d hate to see how you treat someone you hate.”
“Please, Sadie. Don’t let it end this way.”
“Ididn’t let it end this way. You did!”
“We can get past this, Sunshine,” I reached out my hand to hold hers.
She jerked away from me so fast she almost fell. “Don’t touch me,” she hissed. She was shaking with rage. “Don’t ever call me Sunshine again. And most of all? Don’t ever come near me again. We’redone.”
“Is everything okay here?”
I turned to see a tall, muscular, blond dude coming towards us.
