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Ben
“What the hell are youdoing?”
Duncan’s tone pisses me right off, and I consider flipping him the bird, but I guarantee he’s not going to leave me alone until he gets what he wants to say off his chest.
“Will you excuse me just a sec?” I ask Sienna.
Cass’s co-star smiles back at me seductively. “Sure.”
I push off the wall, step away from Sienna, and face Duncan. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Something that would hurt Lainey; that’s what it looks like.”
Guilt crashes through me with so much force that I nearly take a step back from the impact. Lainey and I may not be in a relationship, but seeing me flirt with Sienna would hurt her. And that was never my intention. All I wanted to do was push down the hurt and rejection I felt when I saw Lainey hug Lucas. The way Lainey looked as she held on to her ex-boyfriend... it was as if his touch was a reminder of how much she loves him, of how it pains her not to be with him.
When Seb and I went to grab a drink, and Sienna started flirting with me, I should have put a stop to it, but I didn’t. It’s true what they say, old habits die hard. I’m so used to screwing women to shut out my emotions that it was second nature to respond to Sienna’s gestures. Does it make it right? No. But the thought I’m still jealous of Lucas Lawson... it makes me mad enough to want to hit something. Namely, Lucas.
“Lainey’s too busy talking to Mr Perfect to care what I’m up to.”
And I can’t hang around to watch Lainey worship at his altar the way she used to.
“Then why did she walk out of here in tears a minute ago?” Duncan asks.
My heart clenches in my chest at the thought Lainey is upset because she saw me with Sienna. “She did?”
“Yeah, she did. You’re going to fuck up everything with Lainey at this rate. I swore I wouldn’t get on your case about a relationship after you went off at Cass and me a few weeks back, but you need to pull your head out of your arse. Man up and admit you like the girl. And don’t give me your usual bullshit about you just being friends with her when you’re over at her place every night.”
“We are just friends.”
Even as I say the words, I wonder how true they are. Refusing to label what I’m doing with Lainey was supposed to prevent me from feeling hurt, betrayed, and rejected, but it hasn’t. I care about Lainey too much. She’s more to me than she was ever supposed to be, more than I ever wanted her to be. The way I felt when I saw her with Lucas attests to that.
“Then why the hell did she look so upset? You can’t keep doing what you’re doing. Someone is going to get hurt. I mean, more hurt than they already are.”
Duncan never liked the idea of me doing this friends-with-benefits thing with Lainey, probably because Cass didn’t like it, but that doesn’t mean Duncan doesn’t have a point. Maybe I could have argued differently if he hadn’t just told me Lainey walked out of here in tears. I feel like a grade A arsehole.
“You’re right,” I say.
I knew from the start I couldn’t hold on to Lainey forever, but this thing between us is going to end much faster than I’m ready for. I can’t imagine not going to bed with her tonight or waking up with her tomorrow, and I wish we could keep going forever, but the jealousy that has plagued me the past couple of weeks doesn’t fit the parameters of our arrangement. And neither does Lainey’s reaction to seeing me with Sienna. What we’re doing is no longer painless. It’s time to call it quits.
“You’re agreeing with me?” Duncan asks, looking confused.
“Yeah. I’m going to go fix things now.”
“How?”
“How do you think? I’m going to end it, of course.”
Duncan looks angrier than I’ve ever seen him. “You’re such an idiot. Ending it is a mistake. You care about her; you’re just too hung up on the past to see it. Why do you think Cass and I invited Amber and Lucas tonight? It wasn’t to upset you both, even though you’ve implied it enough. We honestly thought you guys were over them and over what happened.”
“Then you’re the idiot,” I tell him. “Because Lainey is still in love with Lucas.”
“Really? Are you absolutely certain of that?”
“One hundred and twenty percent.”
“Fine. I guess Cass was wrong, then.”
“What are you talking about?”
