I bring my arms around his back, dragging him so close that his thighs brush against mine and his nose grazes over my ear. “I’m sorry,” I say, breathing him in. “That’s not true. I don’t think the worst of you.”
He turns his face into the side of my neck. “Yeah, you do. But that’s okay because, to tell you the truth, I think I am the worst man for you.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
DYLAN
“And then she just left,”I say to my therapist. “Can you believe that?”
I had some of the hottest sex of my life with Jade, made her come twice, and she still walked out like it was nothing. Makes no fucking sense. Had she not wanted more? I sure as hell had. I’d wanted her to hang out afterward so we could talk, sleep nestled together in my bed, and then wake up next to me. Hell, I’d even wanted to have breakfast with the woman. Dangerous thoughts, I know. That’s why I called Sarah first thing the next day. Unfortunately, she didn’t answer.
Thank god she called me back this morning.
She taps her manicured nails against her knee as she blinks at me from the other side of the camera. “Did Jade say why she left?”
I sit back in my chair and run her through our conversation at the store for what feels like the millionth time.
“That’s what this is to you… fun.”
“…that’s not enough for me.”
“What is this?”
“She thinks I’m only interested in her for a bit of fun.”
Sarah’s glasses slip down the bridge of her nose until she pushes them back to where they belong. “Is she right?”
Good question. I rub a hand down the back of my neck. “I don’t know.”
Part of me wishes Jade and I had never reconnected, and that she’d go back to being the little blonde kid who used to tag along with my baby sister.
The other part of me stares out the window that looks over Main Street when I should be editing photos, hoping for a glimpse of Jade. That part also keeps checking my phone for a text and wonders if it would be psychotic to dump all my cleaning products down the sink so that I have an excuse to buy a fresh lot from the store next door.
“Do you think that’s something you should figure out?” Sarah asks.
Probably. But I don’t know where to start. Women have come and gone, and I’ve always been happy to see them go. This time, though, I’m not so sure that’s the case.
“It sounds like Jade is looking for more,” Sarah continues. “If you aren’t willing to give her what she needs, you need to let her find someone who will.”
Someone like Officer Shithead.
My teeth clench so hard that my jaw aches.
When Jade didn’t text me after she left, I nearly lost my mind thinking something had happened to her. And yeah, I may have gone downstairs to check the store like a stalker. She didn’t answer when I knocked, and I considered texting to make sure she was okay, but I stopped myself because it felt an awful lot like she was avoiding me. Then I started wondering if she’d called Deputy Douchebag for a ride home. The thought of Jade going back to him after she’s been with me makes me madder than the stack of tickets, the bag of shit, and every single judgmental asshole in this town combined.
My gaze makes its way to the darkroom door as I rub idly at my healing hands.
If it’s not Nate Williams, it’ll be someone else. Apart from my family, Jade is the only good thing in Still Springs, and I’m hardly the only one who’s noticed. I saw those guys at the bar checking her out a few weeks back. It’s only a matter of time before she’s with someone else. Someonenice.
Too bad I’m not looking for a girlfriend. God, could you imagine me and Jade strolling around Main Street, holding hands? Actually…that doesn’t sound half bad. I’d treat her a lot better than Officer Shithead did.
What am I thinking?
I don’t want to go down that road again. And Jade couldn’t get away fast enough, so I’m pretty sure she’s done with me.
Sarah pushes up the sleeve of her sweater to check her gold watch. “Looks like we’re almost out of time. I have an opening on Friday at four. Do you want me to pop in your name?”
“Sure.” That gives me a few days to figure some things out.
