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I take some twisted pleasure in the fact that I look hot tonight even though he looks just as good.
He’s wearing a lightweight, long-sleeved blue sweater and faded jeans.
“I was hoping we could talk.” He gestures to the area behind him with his elbow. “I was at the record store and saw you leaving so I sprinted across the street.”
I glance at the street and the four lanes of traffic whizzing past us. If he wants me to be impressed that he risked life and limb to get to me, he’s going to be disappointed.
“I don’t have time, Gage.” My eyes drop to the watch on my wrist.
I’m supposed to meet Preston at a bar two blocks from here in five minutes. The need to get to him isn’t as strong as my desire to get away from Gage.
He smells exactly as he did the last time I saw him in California. It’s the scent of his favorite body wash. I’m hit with a sudden rush of memories of all the early mornings and late night showers we took together. Showers that were less about cleaning our bodies and more about pleasuring each other.
“You have a date,” he states matter-of-factly. “With who?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “That’s none of your business.”
“Is it serious?”
Stubborn pride takes root deep inside of me. I’m not giving this man an inch or a crumb of information about my life. He lost that privilege when he ended our relationship with a weak explanation about why he couldn’t marry me.
“I can’t do it, Katie.”
It was as simple as that.
I replayed those words over and over again in my mind. They held no clues about what took him away from me. They were as empty as the silence between us after he said them.
I gave him back the ring and walked out of our apartment. By the time I returned two hours later, he was gone.
“Is he your boyfriend?” He pushes for more. “Or is it more serious than that?”
I watch as he lowers his hand, revealing the bloodshot eye beneath. I’m not a violent person, but I won’t apologize for the poke in his eye. If it caused even a fraction of the pain that he caused me, it was warranted.
“We’re not having this discussion.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I need to go.”
“To him?” he asks, his voice thick with emotion.
I nod. “Yes, to him.”
He steps aside, granting me a path to the sidewalk. “He’s a lucky bastard.”
You were the lucky bastard once. Now you’re just a bastard.
I bite back the words, not wanting to lose control. “Goodbye, Gage.”
He swallows hard. “Goodnight, Katie.”
I walk as quickly as my feet will take me until I round the corner and once I do, I lean against the side of a brick building. Taking a deep breath, I rub my shaking hand over my forehead.
Chapter 11
Gage
I had no right to follow Katie, but that’s what I do.
As soon as she disappears from my sight I set out after her. I have no intention of interfering in her plans, but the burning need inside of me to know what he looks like is driving my feet forward.
I stop dead in my tracks when I turn the corner. I expected her to be sprinting down the sidewalk, not leaning against the exterior wall of a theatre.
