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He knocked briskly before it swung open.
“Took you long enough.” Tori stepped back and gestured for him to come inside.
What kind of stupid comment was that? He shook his head. “Where is Kristen?”
“I expected you two days ago with the way you screwed up.”
His insides twisted, and his lips slashed into a grim line. “It was a misunderstanding. Where is she?”
Tori closed the door and gave him a long glance before striding past him into the apartment. “She flew back to Nevada yesterday.”
“No.” His stomach sank, and his pulse slowed. She’d said they could talk today at the barbecue. “She wasn’t supposed to leave until Sunday.”
“Guess she wanted to head out early.” Her shrug indicated it wasn’t her problem.
Irritation flared. How could she be so nonchalant. So cold?
“You didn’t try to talk her out of it? Tell her—”
“What?” She turned to look at him, arching a brow as she folded her arms across her chest. “What exactly should I have told her, Blake?”
There was no quick reply on his tongue because he didn’t know. This wasn’t Tori’s problem.
“Look, I think we both know you’re not the commitment type, so maybe it’s better this way.”
“That’s rich coming from the chick who wrecked a relationship.”
The stillness in her and flare of her nostrils let him know he’d hit a nerve. Regret filled him instantly. Hell, James had even told him that he’d been the one to kiss Tori.
“How cute, that locker-room talk didn’t die out in middle school for you boys.” Her smile was hard, her eyes even more so.
He thrust a hand into his hair and took a step toward her, ready to apologize. “Wait. Let me take that back—”
“I’m going to break this to you gently. You were the practice dick.”
Blake’s jaw hardened. “Yes, I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” Tori moved into the kitchen and poured herself some water. “She likes someone else. He didn’t want to date a virgin, so she needed someone to take care of that little problem for her. You were the ‘means to an end,’ I believe she said. Congratulations.”
For a moment, her casually dropped words didn’t quite sink in. And when they did, a wave of nausea swelled in his stomach. His heart began to pound a little faster, and he shook his head.
No way. There was no way she’d react the way she did with him if she were into someone else, would she?
“No. You don’t know how it was with us.”
The memory of Kristen getting a text in the hotel and how she hadn’t seemed to want to leave her phone in the room with him while she’d showered hit him. It had triggered his something wasn’t right nerve, but he’d shrugged it off.
Tori set the glass down on the counter and grabbed her cell phone, searched for a moment, then turned the screen to face him. “You need a little more proof there, buddy? There you go.”
The picture that stared back at him was of Kristen riding in the car with some dark-haired guy with glasses. On the bottom of the message were the words he finally asked me out with a blushing emoji.
The swell of nausea became a tsunami, and a dull numbness began to take over.
Damn, but if he was an idealistic son of a bitch. Of course the one woman he’d been able to give his heart to had already reserved hers for someone else.
“Get it now?” Tori softened her tone. “Look, just be glad she flew home early. At least this awkward little moment happened with me, not her.”
“Yeah. You’ll understand if I don’t say thank you.” The words were harsh as he turned and walked out the door.
