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Hunter seemed to be smiling, too distracted to even know I was there, fifty feet away and staring him down. Turning slightly, I saw the profile of Tatum, and my stomach fell, realizing that no matter what happened between us and how fucked up Hunter was, she would always go back. Maybe he was right; she was obsessed, and while she found a little fun and reprieve in my arms, he would always be her long-term goal.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Tatum
After my mom left, I decided to call Hunter. Not speaking to him at all wasn't the best way to end our relationship. Especially when he chose to talk to my mom behind my back. Admittedly, I was back and forth with Hunter, not knowing how to feel, but the one thing I knew for sure was that he better not contact my mom again.
He agreed to meet me there since he knew I loved spending my days off at the beach. Not Nikki's. That was my safe place, and he still didn't need to know I had a membership. So we met at Lummus Park, where there were plenty of people but also pockets of privacy.
When Hunter saw me walking toward him, he smiled and pulled me into a hug, which I returned in a friendly manner. Then he led me to a bench in the shade and held my hands.
"Things have been crazy," he smiled. "But I was glad you called me."
"You lied to me," I bit out quickly, making his head jerk back.
"How?"
"I've talked to Tripp Maddux. He and I were friends before you sent him into my life, and that ruined your little plan."
"What plan?"
"Don't play dumb," I snapped. "You sent him to fill in for you on our date. But you didn't know we had already met, did you?"
"He was just supposed to help me," Hunter bit back. "I thought you would like meeting him."
"Why would you rather him help you than just cancel? Why take the risk that I wouldn't find out and hate you for trying to manipulate me?"
My next question was going to be to ask him how he knew where I had been and why he texted Tripp the night he was coming inside my apartment, but that was a hand I didn't want to play yet.
"It was his idea. I told him I had been working hard to get back where I wanted to be, either head coaching or playing pro. But I also told him about you and about how hard it was to balance my personal life and soccer."
"Then why not show up that night?"
"I got a call from the university that I thought would lead somewhere, so I had to meet them for dinner instead. After you told me that you needed to break up, I knew you were feeling angry, and I didn't want to let you down again. I called in that favor from Tripp, and he agreed to just keep an eye on you and make you happy, but I promise that was all it was."
"And you didn't expect that I would sleep with him, did you?"
His jaw started to tighten, and his nostrils flared. Hearing that I had slept with him wasn't a shock, but it was pissing him off to listen to it. "You're right. I didn't expect things to go that far."
"You haven't touched me since we got back together, Hunter. Choosing to be with Tripp was an easy choice. He made me feel more in one night than you have in years." Standing up, I no longer wanted to extend the conversation. It didn't matter what else needed to be answered because I was too angry to care.
"Wait," Hunter grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. He had a massive smile on his face that made me uncomfortable and took me off guard. "I'm sorry."
His smile didn't match his words. The word insane popped into my head, and I was suddenly thankful we were in public. There was no reason to cause a scene, so I didn't pull away, but I knew I needed to make him understand once and for all how far he had pushed me.
"I thought our break would be good for us," I smiled back at him, knowing I looked just as insane as he did. "And it was because it allowed me the freedom to see what I needed to see. I love you Hunter, and I always will, in some way, but I'm not my mother. You may think I will be just like her and be there waiting for you at every turn, but I won't. We are done, Hunter. You've officially scared me. So no more talking to my mom, no more phone calls, no more asking me to come see you play. I want to move on."
"With Maddux?" He snapped.
"With myself, and if Tripp provides a few orgasms for me along the way, then I deserve those too."
"You—"
"Bye Hunter." I backed away and started walking quickly toward my car. Hunter was yelling something, no longer concerned about the scene we were making, but I never looked back.
When I got in my car, I called Colton to make sure he knew what happened and to ask for his help changing the locks on my front door. He agreed to meet me at home and get started, making me decide not to call Tripp right away. After I was sure Hunter couldn't help himself to my place, I would call Tripp, tell him what happened, and hope he would be up for a distraction I knew we both enjoyed.
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