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She sighs slightly and shifts in her sleep, and I gently push her hair out of her face. I’m already ready for her again, but I want to let her rest. I have no way of knowing how she's going to feel when she wakes up, but she’d been comfortable enough to fall asleep in my arms and that’s an incredible feeling, given what I know about what she’s been through.
All at once, both her phone and mine begin ringing and I know instantly that something is wrong. A moment later there's a knock at the door, and I lift my head as she jolts out of sleep.
“Who is it?” I ask, and Rico responds.
“We have a situation you might want to be aware of...”
His words send my heart plummeting to my toes, and I can't help but wonder what the hell is going on.
I press a quick kiss to Everly's temple and stand up, pulling my clothes on with quick hands.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, sitting up and pulling the sheet to her chest.
“I hope so, and if it's not, I'll figure out how to make it okay.” I want to reassure her, but not over promise when I don't know exactly what's going on.
With quick steps, I make my way over to the door and open it to Rico. Stepping outside and closing it behind me, I come face to face with him and see the concerned look in his eyes.
“Lyla is at the front doors demanding to be let in.” There's a serious look in Rico's eyes. “She is putting you on blast right now, and Everly too. Apparently she watched you leave your place with Everly and bring her to the club, and she’s shouting to anyone that will listen what’s going on between you two... and she’s being vocal about the bet.”
“Fuck.” There's nothing else to say that covers exactly what I'm feeling right now. “I need to talk to Everly.” With that, I duck back into the room, but the second I step in, I see the look on Everly's face as she glances up at me.
She's holding her phone up, talking on speaker with someone. And the second I hear that mean laugh, I know exactly who she's talking to. “Did you really think he cared about you? It was all about he was just trying to get in your pants. And I know that because I've been dating Arson, who's the one who set up the bet in the first place.”
Everly is staring at me, her eyes welling up with tears. “Is this true?” She's whispering the words, and I can feel her heart radiating across the room toward me. “Were you just sleeping with me for a bet?”
I want to tell her the truth, the whole truth, but I'm not sure how to preface it. “In the beginning there was a bet, yes, but it's not about that. Everly, it's about you. It's been about you. I wanted you the moment I laid eyes on you, and that was well before the bet was placed.”
“Oh, is he there right now?” Lyla’s laugh intensifies and Everly hangs up the phone, letting it slide between her fingers on to the bed as she stares at me with an expression of betrayal that leaves me feeling like the worst human being on the face of the planet.
Maybe I am the worst person on earth.
“Why would you do something like that?” There's raw, painful honesty in her voice, and I don't know how to answer. There's nothing I can say that won't make me sound like a complete monster.
“To be completely honest, it just seemed like a way to make some extra cash given that I wanted to be with you anyway.” As my words sink in, she suddenly throws back the blanket and stands up, gathering up her clothes and dressing in angry, tight, tense motions that leave me worried.
“But that was in the beginning. Everything changed, Everly.” But even as I speak, she doesn't slow down for a second or even acknowledge that I've said anything.
I walk over to her side, as if there's some way I can soothe her rage. But as I see the anger in her eyes, I know it's just wishful thinking. She is furious and I'm not sure anything I say or do can fix that.
“Everly, I swear I didn't mean to hurt you.”
She doesn't so much as pause while pulling her skirt up over her hips. “There's nothing you can say that I want to hear.” There is strength behind her words, but also a hint that she’s been broken all over again. “I'm so embarrassed. I knew from the start I shouldn't have done anything with you, and you just proved me right. I should have listened to my gut.” She almost sounds angry at herself and I watch her move around the room, feeling completely hopeless to fix this situation that I caused.
“You might have cost me my friendships, my dignity, my integrity, hell, maybe even jobs. Because once this gets out, it's going to look so bad that I slept with a client.” I can hear her fuming as she pulls her shirt on. With quick fingers, she fixes her hair, then stops to glare at me.
“I don't ever want to see you again. I'll finish out your office because I agreed to and you're paying for it. But after that, I don't ever want to see your face. Don't call me, don't contact me. I don't want to hear a word out of your mouth that isn't about the job.” The tears sparkling in her eyes tell me she's suffering, and I take a step closer to her, wanting to offer some comfort but knowing that I'm the source of her distress.
“I'm sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt or for it to be like this. I really do care about you, Everly.” As I speak, I can see the wall slamming down behind her eyes, and I know that she's already shut me out. I have no doubt there's no way back in, and I feel a fist tighten around my heart.
Is this really how it ends between us?
With my ex completely ruining any chance we have at happiness together?
Because for the first time in my life, I've actually found someone I think I could be compatible with. Someone I think I can be happy with; someone I think that I can make happy. The way she'd come to me last night. The way we'd come together tells me that in our worst moments, in our best moments, at our happiest or our most upset, we can work well together. We can find strength in one another. We can lean on each other. We can find happiness and comfort in each other 's arms.
But now all she has is hatred and resentment toward me.
And there's nothing I can do about that.
