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“What are you doing here, Roderick?” The question pops out of my mouth, my tone colder than I meant.
But he just smiles at me. “Wednesday night is your club. I dropped you off a couple of times.”
Yeah, months ago. Before Ben.
“Doesn’t really answer my question.”
“Right, yeah. Sorry it took so long. Work got crazy, and I finally figured out what you meant.” Roderick stands up from his car, hands tucked in his pockets, giving me a rueful grin.
“What do you mean, what I meant?” My arms wrap tight around my middle, more to guard me from the awkwardness of this conversation than to keep me warm.
“When you said what we were doing wasn’t working for you anymore. I totally get it. I want more than just hooking up, too. We’ll start dating. You can be my girlfriend.”
My first reaction is to laugh because the arrogance of that last statement is baffling. But I tamp down that response and try to remember the exact text I sent to Roderick. I thought I’d made it clear that it was the two of us that didn’t work together, not the nature of our relationship.
The sound of doors opening and conversations drift from behind me. The last of the club members are making their exit, and even though I don’t want what Roderick’s offering, it doesn’t mean I think a bunch of people should hear the rejection. So, I take a step forward in order to use a lower voice.
Unfortunately, he interprets this as an invitation.
Moving toward me, Roderick reaches out to put his hand on my waist. He barely makes contact before I step out of the hold.
This situation is one of the many reasons I’ve avoided relationships in the past. If we’re not dating, then we don’t have to go through a breakup. Or so I thought.
“Roderick, I wasn’t trying to push you into a relationship or manipulate you. If I’d wanted us to start dating, I would have said that. I was being honest when I told you that I didn’t think the two of us worked together. At least, it wasn’t working for me.”
The confidence leaves his face as my words settle in. And, of course, it’s right at this extremely uncomfortable moment that I hear a familiar set of footsteps approaching.
25
BEN
The vents blow out cold air at first, but I crank the heat, hoping to warm the car up fast. I don’t want anything cooling the fire I just saw in Holly’s eyes.
The memory of her command makes me shiver. She wants to go back to her place.
Pleasant thoughts of what we might do tonight get interrupted when I pull around the corner, only to see Holly walking away from where I planned to pick her up. She moves purposefully toward a guy with overly styled hair and a cocky-as-hell grin.
Instantly, I know he’s not just a friend. The way this greasy-haired asshole runs his eyes over Holly makes it clear that he’s got only one thing on his mind. But there’s more than just attraction. He looks possessive.
Makes me want to punch that smirk off his face.
Why did Holly walk over to him? Why is she talking to him like they know each other?
Then, the obvious hits me in the gut.
Could this be one of her hook-ups?
My whole world tilts on its axis.
Are they still sleeping together?
I want to throw up.
My mind trips over the last few weeks, searching for something to deny what my eyes are telling me. This whole time, she could have been seeing someone else. Sleeping with someone else.
The cowardly thing to do would be to sit here, wait till she’s done, and then pretend I never saw them together. Or worse, blame her for technically doing nothing wrong. We haven’t talked about being exclusive. Just because the idea of her with another guy makes me want to spoon my eyes out of my sockets doesn’t mean it’s a betrayal.
So, I go with door number three.
