“Yeah.”
“Good. She likes her. Says she fits in well with the group.” He pauses and I know what’s coming before he says it. “Don’t fuck it up.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because you have a history.”
“One relationship. That’s not a history.”
“Sienna wasn’t a relationship. It was six weeks of you trying to convince yourself you liked her more than you did.” Dex leans back against the wall, arms crossed. “And when you ended it, she went psycho.”
My stomach drops. “She didn’t go psycho.”
“She showed up at three different games after you broke up. That’s textbook psycho.”
“She just wanted closure.”
“And did she get it?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t heard from her in months.” The lie tastes bitter in my mouth but I can’t tell him about the DM. Can’t tell anyone. “She moved to Portland. Got a new job. Moved on.” At least that’s what I keep telling myself every time I think about that DM sitting in my deleted messages.
“You sure about that?”
“Positive.”
Dex gives me a look that says he knows I’m full of shit but he doesn’t call me on it. “Just saying. Be careful. Don’t lose Juliette because your ex can’t let go.”
He heads toward the locker room and I stand there holding my water bottle, thinking about the message.
Hey. I’m back in Seattle for work this week. Would love to catch up if you have time.
I’d deleted it so fast. Didn’t respond. Didn’t tell Juliette.
Because what was I supposed to say?Hey, my ex who I dated for six weeks last year just messaged me and wants to meet up?That conversation goes nowhere good. It ends with Juliette looking at me the way she looked at Garrett, with that mix of hurt and betrayal and there’s no way I can have her looking at me that way.
Better to just ignore it. Sienna will realize I’m not interested and move on. Again.
I finish my workout and head to the showers, hot water beating against my shoulders while I try to convince myself I made the right call. Tonight Juliette’s making dinner. I need to stop at the store, grab wine because she always forgets and then complains when we don’t have any.
I’m mentally making a grocery list when I walk out of the facility into the parking lot.
And see Sienna leaning against my Jeep.
Fuck.
She sees me and waves, all smiles like we’re old friends. “Romeo! Hi!”
I look around on instinct. The parking lot is mostly empty but there are still guys hanging around. Anderson’s near his SUV. Brody’s on his phone by the entrance.
This is bad. This is really bad.
“Sienna. What are you doing here?”
“I’m in town for work! I sent you a message but didn’t hear back, so I thought I’d just swing by.” She steps closer, her handlanding on my arm like she has the right. “You look good. Really good.”
I step back fast, putting space between us. “Thanks. Look, I’m kind of in a hurry?—”
“Oh come on, we haven’t seen each other in months. Can’t we grab a quick coffee? Catch up?” She tilts her head, giving me that look that used to work on me. Before I knew better. Before Juliette. “There’s a Starbucks right down the street. Please? Just fifteen minutes.”
