Page 23 of Tiger Betrayal

So next week it would be someone else? Who was it last week?

She scrubbed her hands harder.

Her eyes were burning.

Because we fuck. That’s all it is.

That’s all it is.

She’s not my girlfriend!

The fire in his tone made her stomach clench. She would never get that stuff out of her head.

She felt so…so…less-than.

A tear fell into the running water.

Laramie just had to flip the switch. The hurt would go away if she did that. She knew how to do it. She’d done it before. Turn the emotions off, and she didn’t have to feel any of this.

“Just turn it off,” she murmured to herself.

And she did.

Chapter Nine

“You didn’t eat.”

Laramie had seen Stellan coming and had expected his voice as she squatted to retrieve her purse from the cubby hole under the register.

She stood and forced an empty smile. “I wasn’t hungry anymore.” She waved to Murph. “See you tomorrow.”

“See ya,” Murph said without taking his eyes off his computer.

She walked around the counter and aimed for the front door.

“Listen, about earlier—”

“It’s all good,” she said, cutting him off.

Stellan nodded and held open the door for her. “Okay good.”

“Have the night you deserve,” she said. Craig was outside getting into his truck, and she waved at him. “Oh, hey Craig?”

“Yo,” he said, turning.

“Thank you for the candy bar earlier. Murph said it was you who left it on the counter for me.”

“Figured you could use a pick-me up. You looked like a zombie the second half of the day.”

She uttered a surprised laugh. “Yeah, thanks.”

“See you tomorrow,” he told her and got into his rig, shutting the door.

She made her way to her own car. Stellan was trailing behind her. “I didn’t know you and Craig were so close,” he said sarcastically.

“Yeah, the benefit of breaking off a fucking-only relationship is that I could always talk to exactly who I want,” she said, leveling him with a look. “Goodbye, Stellan.”

Stellan stood back, looking uncertain. Good. Payback. She hit the gas and sped out of the parking lot.