Scott pulled up and jumped out. I looked over toward his garage. A dark BMW was parked there. Huh, I couldn’t picture Scott driving a Beemer.
He opened the passenger door and reached in for me before I could attempt to get out of the car myself. After carrying me up the stairs leading to the front door, he slowly slid me down his body, and I could feel how much he wanted me. He put his key into the lock and pushed me back against the door as he started to kiss me. He opened the door, and he began walking me backward into the house, never breaking our kiss.
Then, I heard someone clear her throat.
Scott pulled away from me and looked to his left. “Chelsea?”
Chelsea? I turned to see his ex-fiancée sitting on the sofa.
Scott instantly stepped back and away from me, leaving me stunned for a second.
Are they back together? Did he just get caught cheating? No…he told me tonight she’d left him for one of his best friends.
Scott quickly looked at me. He must have realized what he had done because he took a step back toward me and grabbed my hand. “What in the hell are you doing in my house? How did you get in here?”
Chelsea held up a key as she looked at me like I was something she needed to get rid of and fast. Her expression should have dropped me to the ground. Then, it seemed like she was trying to make herself cry.
She stood up and turned back to Scott. “I really needed to talk to you. You weren’t home, so I figured you wouldn’t mind if I waited. I didn’t know you were bringing a…friend home with you.” She glanced back over toward me.
“Um…Jessie, you remember Chelsea?”
I nodded and tried my best to smile at her.
She looked me up and down and then turned back at Scott. “I’m really upset, Scott. I need to talk to you…in private,” she said with a quick look in my direction.
Scott glanced at me and then back to her.
It should have been a no-brainer. Tell her ass to leave and come back tomorrow.
“Um…uh…Jessie, would you mind if I talked with Chelsea for just a bit?”
“Yes…Jessie, maybe you could go outside for a bit? Take a little walk in the moonlight. Better yet, Scott, maybe Jessie should go home.”
“Um…” was all Scott said.
Wait. What? Does he really want me to go outside and take a walk at one thirty in the morning?
“Listen, Chelsea, it’s late. Why don’t you crash in the guest bedroom? Then, we can talk before I leave town tomorrow.”
“What?” Chelsea and I both said at the same time.
She snapped her head over at me, shaking her head. “Why? So, you can fuck your little friend here? You want me to just sit in another room while you screw someone else?”
“No! I just meant that instead of you leaving so late, we could just talk in the morning. Jessie can sleep in another bedroom.”
Oh. My. God. It’s happening all over again. How stupid could I be? What in the world ever made me think I could take the place of Chelsea Mason?
As I glanced over at Scott, I did everything I could to keep back the tears. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you just take me home? Then, y’all can have your privacy to do whatever.”
Chelsea smiled at me. “That’s a great idea.”
Scott snapped his head from me to Chelsea. “Chelsea, will you just shut up?”
She looked stunned as she sat back down on the sofa.
I turned and pushed past Scott, making my way to his truck.
“Jessie, please wait. Jess! Stop, please.”
I spun around. “I just want to go home!” I shouted. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Either you take me home now, or I can have Dewey come pick me up. Hell, at this point, I’ll walk home.”
Aaron and Jenny lived right down the road, right before the Mathews’ place, so I decided to head that way as I started to walk down his driveway.
“Stop! Please just let me take you back inside.” He grabbed my arm and spun me around. “Please, Chels, let me take you back inside.”
I’m going to be sick. He just called me Chels. Don’t cry. Do not cry.
As a tear rolled down my face, he looked at me like someone had just kicked him in the stomach.
“My name is not Chels.”
He closed his eyes and dropped his head. “Fuck, Jessie…I didn’t mean—”
“Please…please just take me home,” I whispered.
He nodded as he let me walk past him toward his truck. I opened the door and slammed it shut before he could even try to help me in. He walked around the front of his truck and looked back at his front door. When I turned back toward the door, I saw Chelsea standing there.
Fucking bitch. I hate her.
He got in his truck, started it up, and headed down the driveway. “Jessie—”
“Please just turn on the radio. I really don’t want to talk to you.”
He let out a sigh as he reached for the stereo. Right when he turned it on, Hot Chelle Rae’s “Why Don’t You Love Me” started to play. Looking out the window, I let out a gruff laugh and just let the tears fall.
How could I let this happen? Again.
I didn’t even care that he knew I was crying. I didn’t care about anything anymore.
“Jessie, please—”
I shook my head and prayed for God to please just let me get home fast. I closed my eyes as I listened to the words of the song. What a perfect fucking song. I’m so tired of being hurt.
He pulled up to Aaron and Jenny’s house, and I jumped out before he could even put it in park.
He got out, ran over to me, and grabbed me. “Jessica, please let me talk to you.”
I looked up at him and laughed. “Do you remember the first time you kissed me?”
He closed his eyes and then opened them again. “Of course I do…under the bleachers after football practice.”
“Do you remember why you walked away from me?”
He just stared at me. His eyes filled with sadness.
“Well, let me refresh your memory. After you kissed me, you pulled away and looked into my eyes. At that moment, I gave you my heart and soul. Only, you threw it to the ground and stomped on it. Chelsea walked by and said, ‘Hi,’ to you. You took one look at her and turned back to me with a smile. Then, you laughed and said, ‘Thanks for the kiss, Tiny!’ before you ran after her.”
Scott went to say something but then shut his mouth. I stepped away from him and started to walk up the stairs leading to the front door.
“Jessie…I was an idiot, and we were in high school. I had no idea you felt like that about me. I thought you were just Aaron and Dewey’s—”
I turned and looked at him. “Little, tiny sister…yeah, I know.”
“Jessie, please drive with me to the coast tomorrow. Please.”
I shook my head as I felt tears building again. As one dropped, I turned away from him. “This was a mistake. It was all just a mistake. I was stupid to think you’d ever be interested in me like that.”
“Fuck, Jessie. Would you please just stop and let me talk to you? Chelsea is not a part of my life anymore. I want to get to know you more, angel. I want to be with you, Jessie. Please don’t do this.”
“When I saw you look at her…” I sucked in a breath of air, trying to stop myself from crying. “And you didn’t tell her to leave and come back tomorrow, Scott. You made your choice…and again, you picked her.”
I ran up the stairs. I opened the front door and shut it before he could say anything. Leaning against the door, I listened as he started his truck and then headed down the driveway. I slowly sank to the floor as I let the tears fall freely.
I was so stupid to think anything could ever happen between us.
Never again.
When I pulled into my driveway, I saw Chelsea’s car still sitting there. I slammed the steering wheel. “Fuck!”