Page 98 of The Other Room

When I finished my glass and turned around, my breath trapped in my throat when I saw Matt leaning against the door. Instantly those damn tears made a move back into position. But before they could spring free, my rage won the race of emotions, and I narrowed my eyes.

“Jo,” he said as he started toward me. “It’s not what it seems. Please, just talk to me.”

Not what it seems? Is he kidding right now?

It was exactly what it seemed.

Matt was still the lying, cheating asshole I’d thought he was all year long.

“Bartender!” one of the few remaining customers called, shaking me from our stare down. “Can we get a couple margaritas?”.

“Yep!” I answered, shaking my head to get my shit back together.

I scolded Matt with my stare, and with a heavy sigh, he backed away from the bar and slipped back out the door.

For the next two hours, even though only three customers remained, I tried to keep busy, washing every surface of the bar in an attempt to bide my time before having to go. I knew Matt would be waiting for me, and the last thing I wanted to do was hear more of his lies.

“I think he’s still out there if you want to go talk to him,” Hanson whispered as he peered out the front window. “I mean, you can keep polishing the same glasses over and over if you really want to, but really, your shift ended like two hours ago. Why don’t you head out and put the poor guy out of his misery?”

Shaking my head hard, I straightened back up from the glassware and my towel. “I don’t need to talk to him. Just ignore him.”

“Want me to tell him to leave? Maybe rough him up?” Hanson asked, and a slight smile lifted my lips.

“You’d do that for me?”

He scoffed. “Hell, yeah! I haven’t tossed a guy out of a bar in a while, but you’d better believe I’ll send that one sailing if he’s bothering you. Granted, he’s not in the bar, but I’ll still get rid of him if you want.”

For a moment I contemplated it, but then realized as much as I appreciated the comradery, I didn’t need Hanson fighting my battle. Lifting my chin, I dug deep to find the strength to face Matt.

“I’ll handle it,” I said, and Hanson gave me a nod of solidarity.

I punched out and told Hansen I’d grab my tips tomorrow. Wanting to get this over with, but also wanting to avoid it at all costs, I took a deep breath and walked out the front door. It only took a second for me to see Matt sitting on the bench just off to the side. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but when I tried to speak, I couldn’t get a word out over the lump forming in my throat. Instead, I spun on my heel and started hurrying toward home.As my aching feet hit the street, I could practically feel his breath down the back of my neck.

“Jo. Please. Just talk to me,” he begged, but I ignored his pleas.

Quickening my steps, I struggled to breathe while the heartache tightened in my chest and crawled up my throat.

“Jo!” Matt called again.

Just the sound of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. An enraging blend of lust, hurt, and anger all twisted together and traveled through my body.

Lust had no place in my emotions right now, but I couldn’t get the soft tones of that same voice whispering “I love you” into my ear out of my head.

He’s a cheater.

A liar and a cheater.

Trying to shake off the emotions punching through me, I stopped and inhaled a ragged breath.

Matt’s footsteps drumming on the pavement grew louder as he walked up behind me. “Thank you for stopping. I just want to explain what happened.”

“Explain what happened?” The absurdity caused me to choke out a laugh.

“Yes. When I saw Nikki—"

Just hearing her name on his lips sent a whoosh of rage rushing through me. I spun around and impaled him with a glare just before letting that same rage rip out of my arm and explode against his face with a slap.

He stumbled back clutching his cheek.