“Hey.”
Ugh. Leo. The last person I wanted to see. But at least if I wanted to take my anger out on someone I’d found the guy who deserved it. “What do you want?” I’d barely said two words to the loser since I found him in my dressing room pounding a twenty year-old.
“I guess you heard Cece’s out with Auden, huh?” He rolled his eyes. “What’s she see in that guy?”
I set my guitar upright beside me. I’d been in the common area backstage working on a song after the crowd dispersed. A song about friends to lovers that zeroed in on my feeling for Cece.
“I’m still trying to figure out what the hell she saw in you.” I’d been civil to him when he was dating her, but now all bets were off. I hadn’t found the chance to tell him what I thought of him for doing a number on Cece, but he’d crossed my path at the wrong time tonight. I was pissed and looking for a target.
He looked taken aback by my candor, but he said, “Look, I know you never liked me, but I did—do love her, Knox.”
“You’ve got a funny way of showin’ it.” I glared at him. “You don’t show a girl you love her by bangin’ the first chick who comes on to you.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I knew it. You’re the reason Cece won’t take me back.”
Was he crazy… puffing his chest out at me? I’d love an excuse to beat his head in, then fire his worthless ass. “Cece won’t take you back ‘cause she’s too damn good for you and you helped her figure that out. You wanna blame someone, it’s the loser in the mirror, dumbass.”
He clenched his fists and I wanted to give him a reason to take a swing. To goad him into the worst mistake of his life. I hadn’t had to throw one in a while because I usually had handlers surrounding me these days. But that didn’t mean I forgot how. I grew up in Beattyville, where drugs were rampant and dealers were dangerous. You either learned how to survive or you didn’t make it out alive.
“You never wanted Cece to get with me. Admit it.”
“You’re right.” I scanned my phone, hoping she’d send me a text about how boring Auden’s friends were and that she was having a shitty time. “She deserves way better than a guy who can’t keep it in his pants.” I smirked. “You had the best thing that’ll ever happen to you in your miserable life within your grasp and let her go. Must suck, huh? Knowing you’ll never find anyone else like her?”
He looked like one of those cartoon characters with steam coming out of his ears, the little weasel, and I was enjoying every second of this long overdue tear down.
“Stay out of our way,” he warned, stabbing a finger in my direction. “We will get back together. You’ll see. And when we do—”
“Not gonna happen.” I looked him in the eye, daring him to challenge me. “You hear me? Over my dead body will she take you back.”
“You can’t stop her!”
He sounded like the whiny little bitch he was, making me wonder how the hell Cece put up with him as long as she did. “Then you underestimate the amount of pull I have with her.” I smiled, pissing him off even more. “Cece and I tell each other everything. She asks for my advice and takes it to heart. If she ever softened, even for a second, where you’re concerned, I’d be sure to remind her what you did. And why you can’t be trusted.”
He uncapped a bottle of water with force before taking a long pull. “Why? Because you want her for yourself?”
Did I? “None of your business what I want. Point is what you had and lost. And make no mistake, you lost Cec. She’s not comin’ back to you, man. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. So get your head out of your ass and quit harrassin’ the girl. ‘Cause if you don’t, you and I are gonna have a real problem. And trust me, you don’t want that.”
“It’s not over just ‘cause you say it is.” He glared at me. “I know you like to think of yourself as some god because everyone bows down to you, but—”
“This has nothing to do with ego. Or control. This is about me lookin’ out for a girl who means everything to me. Keepin’ her from making another mistake.” I clenched my teeth. “I saw her shed tears over you.” And that still made me want to punch something, preferably him, every time I thought about it. “You know what that did to me? Watchin’ her fall apart over a tool like you?”
“You can deny it all you want but she loves me. She wouldn’t have reacted that way if she didn’t.”
I hated to admit it, but Cece’s feelings for this guy ran deeper than I would have suspected. Granted, all the women on my crew thought he was hot. Nice even, from what I’d been told, but a nice guy didn’t cheat on his girlfriend with some little skank who traded sexual favors for backstage passes.
“She may have loved you,” I conceded, the admission tasting like the worst shot I’d ever choked back. “But that was then. You need to move on. Go find some other poor sucker who doesn’t know you. ‘Cause Cece’s on to you now, man. The deal’s up.”
I laced my fingers, leaning my elbows on my knees. I wanted to punch this guy in his pretty face, mess up his perfect teeth. The surge of violence was normal, I reasoned. He hurt someone I love. But there was nothing ‘normal’ about the frustration and rage surging through me right now and I knew it wasn’t entirely directed at him. I blamed him for being the idiot who let Cece go. But I wasn’t any smarter than he was. I’d been her best friend for years. And for years she’d watched me drift in and out of meaningless relationships, treat sex like a hobby. The opinion she’d formed of me was cut in stone. In her eyes I was a player. The kind of guy a smart girl would never trust with her heart. And I hated that ‘cause I’d slit my own wrists before I ever broke that girl’s heart.
“Hey.”
As soon as I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, her eyes darting nervously between me and her ex, I wanted to jump up and wrap my arms around her. Smother her beautiful face in kisses and tell her I loved her. I wasn’t ready to dissect that love, but damn, it was the most intense thing I’d ever experienced.
“Hey, gorgeous.” I smiled to let her know she had nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t be laying a beating on her pretty-boy ex tonight. “You’re back early.”And I hope that means you’re done with your boy-toy.I had no reason to dislike Auden. He was a decent guy, but he was quickly claiming the spot of public enemy number two, just behind the asshat standing in front of me, eyeing my girl like she was the answer to his pathetic prayers.
“Get out,” I said, scowling at him. “This conversation is over and I want to talk to Cece alone.”
He glared at me before heaving a sigh when he realized he was fighting a losing battle. “I’ll see your tomorrow, Cece.”
