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“Nothing. I told you.” I blinked madly, trying to force back the tears threatening to fall. I spied a taxi turning into the pickup zone and waved at it. “I’ve got to run. Thanks for everything, really. You were great. It was fun.”
I made for the waiting cab. If I could just get away from Asher, I could fall apart the rest of the night, I promised myself. I just had to get away.
“Winter!” Asher called as I practically sprinted toward the cab.
I got the door open before his hand landed on it and pushed it closed.
“You’re starting to piss me off. Tell me what’s going on,” he demanded, angry now. He loomed over me.
“Nothing, I told you. Why is that so hard to understand? We had an agreement, and now it’s done.” I tapped him on the chest. “Congratulations. You’re free and single again.”
“I don’t want to be free and single, I want my fucking girlfriend to look me in the eye and tell me what’s really going on.”
I nearly whimpered when he took my chin and tilted it up, so my eyes had no choice but to meet his. He wasn’t going to accept this. He was going to keep pushing me for the truth. And in return, Trent was going to have something done to him. I had to cut ties; it was the only way.
“Girlfriend? You really think I could date someone like you seriously? We aren’t the same, Asher…you know that better than anyone.”
He flinched as if I’d struck him. I knew how he felt. I’d just driven a knife into my own heart. He stared at me a moment longer, something dark and dangerous burning in his eyes.
“Be a bitch all you want…but I don’t believe you. Something’s going on, and you’re going to tell me what it is.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I snapped, the tears burning so fiercely I knew I was running out of time before they fell. I was on the cusp of losing it. “Don’t be so dramatic. We hung out, played with each other, made a stupid childish deal…and now it’s over. Move on,” I snapped again, my voice gravelly with unshed tears. I broke away from his touch and got into the cab, shutting the door quickly.
“Where to, miss?” the driver asked me.
I gave him my home address while Asher stood outside the window, staring at the glass. He couldn’t see in, I was sure of it, the windows were pretty tinted. The first tear fell as soon as we pulled out. It was quickly followed by another, and then a boatload more. I sobbed into my hands, uncaring what the driver thought of me, losing my mind in the back of the taxi. I didn’t care.
We drove slowly through the quiet nighttime streets of Hade Harbor, until a low whine filled the air.
The driver tutted. “These damn motorcyclists drive so damn dangerously.”
I looked out the window and let out an agonized sob. Asher was driving his motorcycle beside the taxi, keeping pace with me. He got closer, and after a moment, pressed his hand to my window. My heart broke into a million pieces. He didn’t believe me. He knew something was up. He wouldn’t be easy to fool.
He held his hand there, a silent show of unwavering support that I hadn’t realized how much I needed. But I wasn’t his to support anymore.
I’d lost him.
Knowing he couldn’t see me through the tinted window, I brought my hand up and pressed it against his through the glass. After a few seconds, he dropped back, the road narrowing too much to keep contact. I kept my hand against the glass, savoring the last touch of the man I’d fallen so irrevocably in love with.
Asher
I dressed for the fundraising gala in a daze. Marcus was wandering around the apartment, drinking and chatting away. I felt like my vocal cords had been cut. Talking was an effort. Hell, breathing wasn’t too easy at the moment, either.
“Yikes, don’t check your phone. Do you even follow the bitch?” Marcus asked, staring at his cell.
I grabbed it from him before he could move it away from me.
“Call my girlfriend a bitch again, and I’ll stab your eye out,” I warned him and looked at the screen.
It was Winter’s page. She’d just posted a picture. She was dressed up for the gala, stunning in a dark-red gown. She was standing beside that motherfucker, Trent. He had his arm around her. She was smiling, but it was as fake as a plastic Halloween mask.
What the fuck had happened? I needed to speak to her properly, without any bullshit or interruptions. Something terrible had happened, and she was hiding it. She really thought I couldn’t see right through her pathetic acting skills by now. My gaze landed on her left hand in the picture. I could tell even from here that she wasn’t wearing the ring.
She took your ring off? Seems like she’s done with you.
“Let’s go.” I threw Marcus’ cell at his chest and glanced in the mirror one last time. I was wearing the suit that Winter had bought me. The last time I’d worn it, we’d been at her parents’ house, and I’d gone down on her in the powder room to calm her down. It felt like a lifetime ago. I wasn’t letting it end like this. No fucking way.
We were just at the beginning and if she forgot that, I was here to remind her.
