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Sophie shakes her head and chuckles. “You are not. Be right back. I gotta pee before I leave.”
I climb into bed, and without thinking, I type out a message to Hunter.
Lennon: I hope she can make you happy in a way I never could. She’s the luckiest woman in the world. So pretty and long legs too. I bet her nipples don’t leak milk when she hears a baby cry or pees a little when she sneezes. I know this will change things, but for what it’s worth, I just want you to be happy. You deserve it more than anyone I know. Alison and I will find a new place to live as soon as I can afford it. You don’t need us invading your life anymore.
I hit send but then quickly type out another one.
Lennon: I’m sorry, Hunter. I’m sorry I was too late to see what was right in front of me the entire time.
I put my phone on silent before tossing it on the nightstand. Tipsy Lennon has no filter, but sober Lennon will be paying for it. The irony of this whole situation isn’t lost on me. I saw him with another woman for two minutes while he had to see me with his best friend for two years. I don’t know how he did it, honestly. This is painful shit. I might actually understand for the first time why Hunter acted the way he did and why he had to keep me at a distance. He was protecting his heart since he couldn’t control it.
Only allowing myself one night to wallow in my own self-pity, I’ll wake up with a new plan on life and stop letting my past hold me back. Alison needs me in the right mindset, and if this pain has taught me anything in the past few hours, it’s that I don’t do well with heartache.
“I was too late,” I mutter when Sophie comes back in.
“You don’t know that for sure,” she says, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I still think you should talk to him when your head is clear.”
I shrug, unable to keep my eyes open. “I already gave him my blessing. It’s over.”
“Whoa, wait. Lennon.” She shakes my shoulder. “What does that mean? What did you do?”
“I texted him.”
“Oh God. No.” I hear the judgy tone in her voice.
“It’s okay, Soph. Really. I’ll be okay. We’ll be just fine,” I tell her, drifting off.
I feel the bed lift slightly, she mutters a few words, but sleep takes me before I can ask her what she said. It doesn’t matter, though. Sleep is all I want right now.
The sound of my bedroom door slamming against the wall startles me awake. My eyes pop open, but darkness surrounds me.
“What the fuck, Lennon?” Hunter roars, and when I look toward him, the hallway light is shining into my room. I have to squint to see him through the haze. “I’ve been texting you for two hours.”
“I fell asleep,” I croak out. “Why are you here?”
“I live here.” He stalks toward me until he’s next to my bed.
“I meant…” I clear my throat. “Why so early? The sun isn’t even up yet.”
Hunter looks down at me, his gaze intense and unreadable. “How drunk are you?”
“Not very. Anymore,” I reply honestly. “Just tired.”
I watch his throat move as he swallows hard. “Then wanna explain your messages to me?”
My eyes widen at the realization of what I did and not wanting to have this conversation with him right now. Or ever.
“Uh, not really.” In fact, I want to sink under these covers and never come up for air.
“Lennon.” He sits down next to me. “Were you at the Five Seasons tonight?”
I squint one eye as if I’m racking my brain. “For like a minute.”
“Why?” he asks. “What were you doing there?”
Deciding I need to face this, I sit up until I’m resting against the headboard. “I came to talk to you but realized you were on a date, so I left.”
“Why didn’t you text or call me beforehand?”
I shrug. “I had a few shots at that point and really wasn’t thinking clearly,” I shamelessly admit. “I wasn’t spying on you, but I shouldn’t have gone there in the first place.”
“And are you thinking clearly now?” he asks, keeping his intense gaze on mine.
“Yes. I think so,” I respond.
“Good, so then you can hopefully understand what I’m about to say.” He shifts his body so we’re face to face. “I wasn’t on a date. I haven’t wanted to take a girl out on a date since the moment I met you. I don’t know what you saw, but between the end of dinner and drinking at the bar to the timing of your text messages, I’m guessing it was when Carly’s husband was out on a call. Because had you come any earlier or stayed a few minutes longer, you would’ve seen Mr. Long kissing his wife.”
