She nods, her beautiful eyes laced with nervousness. “I understand.”
I pull out my phone and press a call to one of my first contacts, putting it on speakerphone. “What’s up, numbnuts.”
I hold Oaklee’s gaze as I answer my brother. “I’m at a friend’s house. I’m gonna send you a pin drop location. Come pick me up in fifteen minutes.”
“Uhh, why?”
“Because I’ve been drinking and shouldn’t drive.”
“Oh, gotcha. See you in fifteen.”
“Thanks,” I reply, disconnecting the call and firing off my location. “There. Now you don’t have to worry about me overstaying my welcome or trying something hinky.”
Her eyes dance in humor. “Hinky?”
“It’s a word,” I counter.
“I know it’s a word. I just haven’t heard it used since 2004.” Her smile stretches across her face, almost rendering me speechless.
I take a deep breath and down my shot. The tequila burns as it goes down, but it’s definitely smoother than the cheap shit. “All right, I’ll go first. I’ve never had a long-term girlfriend.”
Confusion mars her features. “What? Not one?”
“Nope. Not unless you count the woman I took to my senior prom. We hung out a bit before and after, but there were no titles given. She knew I was going into the military after high school and had no plans for any entanglement back home.”
She nods. “That makes sense. At least you didn’t give them false hope.”
“Nope, I’d never do that,” I tell her. “I’m honest to a fault when it comes to women. I’d never say something just to get someone into bed.”
She watches me, gauging my sincerity, I’m sure. “So, why not now? You’ve been out of the military for a while, right?”
“I have, but I guess, I’ve just preferred to keep things light.”
She cracks a slight smile. “Is that a polite way to say it’s just sex?”
I lift a shoulder, holding her gaze. “Perhaps. Sometimes, that just makes life easier, you know? But I’m always up front about it. I’d never tell a woman something just to get her into bed, remember?”
She nods in understanding before she takes a deep breath and downs her shot. She makes a face and sticks out her tongue. “Smoother, but still kinda gross,” she says, making me chuckle.
Then, she takes another deep breath and levels me with an intense look. “I’ve dated Lance off and on for six years. Last Friday, I went to his apartment to surprise him, and a woman answered the door. He has been cheating on me.”
I try to keep my face neutral, but I already know I fail. Anger washes through me in a way I rarely feel. The last time I wanted to hit someone this badly was when some asshole wouldn’t take no for an answer with Charli and tried to get a little handsy. Before I could even take him outside and give him the proper ass-whoopin’ he deserved, she kneed him in the balls and dropped him like a bag of hammers.
“I broke up with him immediately and dropped all his shit I had at my place on his Welcome mat.”
“Fuck him.”
She nods and gives me a small smile.
“I’m sorry you’re going through that.”
“Thank you, but I should have seen it coming. He was always…distant. Never had time for me, and I always made excuses for him since he was in med school.”
“Fuck him,” I state a second time with a little more heat.
Her grin widens. “Fuck him,” she repeats.
“Atta girl,” I say proudly. “Anytime you find yourself starting to make excuses for the cheating bastard, I want you to repeat after me. Fuck. Him.”
