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ChapterTwo
EAT A DICK
Bentley
I thoughtI knew how bad jet lag could be, but somehow, I’ve surpassed the tiredness of my flight from Cusco, Peru to home in Charlotte, North Carolina and entered a state of delirium I’ve never experienced before.
I try to count the hours it’s been since I’ve properly slept, but all I know is it’s nearing two full days. I should have taken some sleeping pills when I got home, but the idea of showing up at my new job sounded better.
That was until I pulled into the parking lot of West-to-East, Inc. and realized what a dick I would look like, dropping in unannounced for my first official visit right as everyone was supposed to be heading home for the day.
So, I left just as quickly as I arrived, but instead of going back home like I should have, I found myself at a local bar I’ve never been to and hoping for an evening by myself to unwind from my trip. Only, my phone keeps ringing, preventing me from enjoying my hop-heavy beer.
First, it was my sister, making sure I’d made it home and berating me for not checking in with her once I was back at my house.
Now, it’s Selene.
I know I shouldn’t answer. I know better after our last break-up, but I can’t stop my thumb from pressing that green button as her name lights up on my screen. A bad decision that I blame on the jet lag.
“Hello, Bentley,” she coos, and the pitch of her voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Another reminder of why I shouldn’t have taken the call.
“What do you want, Selene?” I ask with a heavy sigh and feel the creases on my face deepening.
She scoffs with shock. “I miss you, and as soon as Celia told me you were due back today, I couldn’t wait any longer to hear your voice.”
My fucking sister. Clearly, I need to remind her thatmybusiness is my own. Not information that needs to be shared with myex-girlfriends.
“Well, I’m busy, so we’ll have to chat later,” I say and pull the phone away to hang up, but her tone lowers and she calls my name.
“I just… I don’t like the way we ended things before you left,” she says.
My chuckle turns dark quickly. “You mean you’d like to apologize for saying that my volunteering to help better the communities in third-world countries was a waste of my time since it didn’t further my standing within our circles?”
She makes a noise that sounds like she’s trying to force herself to cry.
“Iamsorry, Benny. I didn’t mean any of what I said. I just want you back. We belong together. I feel that in my soul.”
The way she calls me “Benny” makes me want to stab myself in the eye. The rest of what she has to say used to work on me every time we broke up, but not anymore. I’ve seen her true colors a few too many times and I won’t go back to that life. Not ever again.
“Nothing has changed, Selene. We broke up for the final time, and we’re not getting back together just because I’m home and you’ve apologized.”
She huffs, and all sounds of sadness are gone from her tone. “We’re not over, Bentley. I won’t accept that.”
Then, she hangs up. On me. That woman really is a piece of work.
When my sister introduced us, I thought Selene was a nice person. She played her part almost too well, always talking about how much she loved her family, and how work was something that gave her a purpose, and about the kids she wanted to have because growing up an only child had been torturous for her.
Then, as the months passed and I got to see other sides of her, I realized she is just like my mother. Selene is only looking for a retirement plan in a husband. She wants to be pampered and taken care of. She has no interest in making a difference in the world with our resources.
That woman is everything I never wanted to be after the way I grew up.
Outsiders always look at the rich and think they have it so easy, but growing up with parents who only cared about their bank accounts wasn’t anything I wish to repeat for my own life.
For a short time, I thought Selene felt the same way I did about the way we grew up, but after breaking up and getting back together a couple of times, I’ve finally realized what we were doing was the definition of insanity. We want very different things out of life, and nothing is ever going to work between us, no matter how much time apart we have.
Fuck. My mood has soured, and I have to piss. I toss a hundred to the bartender who gasps, then I walk off.
I take care of business in the bathroom and exit just in time for the redhead I’d seen earlier to run right into me. Cool, sticky liquid splashes over the front of my new suit, and I step back, pulling the ruined fabric away from my skin.
