AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I doubted Easton would understand the difference, so I was glad he didn’t know.
Easton frowned. “I always thought… You and he were so close. Gretch saw him go into your dressing room the day of the wedding.”
“Did she see Sonya and Carly go in there too? He was there because he’s my friend.” I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation.
“I figured you and I had an unspoken agreement,” Easton said. “You were sleeping with him, I thought—”
“No, you didn’t. Regardless of what you’re about to say, you didn’t believe that. You knew I was faithful to you.”
With his hands jammed in his pockets, Easton almost looked shy. Uncertain. “I was insecure. I made a mistake, and I’m sorry. You make mistakes, you know how that works. Everyone can see how much he loves you and I didn’t think I could compete.”
I couldn’t hear this anymore. “Get out.” I walked past him, and held the door open. “Now.”
With a shake of his head and a softtsk, Easton walked out of the room.
He didn’t take all of his words with him, though. I hated myself for hanging onto any of what he said, and it wasn’t like I was going back to him—I wasn’t stupid—but was he right? Was my being close to Nigel to blame? Was I about to make a similar mistake, being friends with Landon?
No. I knew better. Easton wasn’t going to tear me down the way he always had. Nigel and I needed to talk about Landon, because there was something there I couldn’t define.
But Nigel and I were solid, and Easton was full of shit, and I was going to tell myself I didn’t care about anything Eason said until it became true.
25
landon
Elliot didn’t let me do much work—something about it being proprietary and my being a junior programmer—but I didn’t care. It was more than anyone had let me do professionally since my internship, and it was incredible.
Apparently I was that kind of nerd. I wasn’t embarrassed to admit it. I had fun spending the day coding, in an office full of other coders. Plus, the vibe in the place was warm and friendly. It was clear the bunch of them worked well together, and at the same time, they never made me feel like I was on the outside.
I’d never been more certain that this was the career path I wanted.
It wasn’t the trajectory I was currently on, though. As Nigel and I wrapped up for the night, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I needed to take that waiting stripper job, and I needed to get back to my own life. There wasn’t another option. Megan and Nigel’s relationship wasn’t mine, no matter how much fun it had been.
I wouldn’t end things with Megan via text, though. I’d cut them both off tonight, and I’d do it in person.
“Do you want to ride with me?” Nigel asked as we headed out to the parking lot.
I shook my head. Time to start severing ties. “Nah. I’ll follow you.”
“All right. Megan should be at my place, so stay on my ass.” Nigel winked.
So tempting to turn that into more. “Sure.” That would have to do.
And Nigel’s faint frown should be easy to ignore. Hell, I’d probably imagined it. Why would he have a problem with me driving my own truck?
We wove through evening traffic toward the eastern part of the valley, near the freeway. Nigel lived in a part of town with older houses that looked humble on the outside, but I happened to know were worth more than the entire fourplex I rented in.
Megan’s car was already in the driveway, and Nigel parked next to her. It was a picture-perfect view, and I was marring it by putting my big ol’ truck out on the street.
She was sitting on the couch when we walked through the front door, but before I closed it behind me, she was on her feet and joining us. She looked comfortable. Like she belonged here. The way Nigel had at her place last week. And when he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into a drawn-out kiss, I ached just watching them together. Both from need and jealousy.
“Hey.” Megan turned to me with a bright smile, and gave me a tight hug. That felt good too, but I couldn’t imagine her greeting me the way she just had Nigel. I couldn’t imagine him doing that to me either.
What I was about to do was the right decision, even if it didn’t feel like it at this moment. I let go of her sooner than I wanted, and stepped back. “Actually, I can’t stay.”
“Okay?” Megan’s hurt was clear.
“Is it something I said?” Nigel’s tone was lighter, but only barely. “My cologne? The stench of work? I can take a shower. You can help.”
