I started to toss the paper into my Krispy Kreme bag when I hesitated. I’d let the situation with Asshole get the better of me and run me off, and I didn’t want to be that same pathetic girl anymore. I wanted to be a strong, take-no-prisoners woman who stood her ground. Time to call West out on his shit. Then we’d see what he had to say for himself.
Smoothing out the paper as best I could, I added West’s number to my phone and then sent him a text.
Me: I just left your girlfriend’s house.
I smirked at my phone. Yeah, West, what do you have to say about that?
West: What girlfriend?
My eyebrows lifted. Was he really going to try to play dumb with me?
Me: Aubrey.
West: Aubrey’s not my girlfriend.
Me: She thinks she is.
West: She is most DEFINITELY not.
I hesitated, thrown off by his continued denial. Maybe it was semantics.
Me: Did she used to be?
There was a definite pause before he answered this time.
West: No. Last I heard, she was with some NFL player.
Me: Have you hooked up with her though?
West: Yeah, but not in a long time.
His quick response surprised me. I’d expected him to deny it, since he’d denied their relationship.
West: You were better.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop my smug smile or the feeling of victory those three little words gave me. The catty side of me bitch-slapped Aubrey with that juicy tidbit and then rubbed it in her face for good measure.
West: Meet me tonight.
I wavered. Could I have the situation all wrong? I mean, Aubrey had seemed pretty genuine yesterday, but my gut didn’t trust her motives. Maybe West was being honest, and Aubrey was a lying skank. I preferred that scenario. It meant another serving of West in my future, and God knew, I had an appetite for that man. My resolve began to evaporate like raindrops on a hot sidewalk, disappearing like it had never been there to begin with. The truth was, I wanted to see him again.
My mind screamed a warning at me to slow down and think this through, but my body hollered at me to give in and enjoy the feast. I had to buy myself some time, regain my equilibrium.
Me: I can’t. Girl’s night.
West: Fine. Tomorrow. 7 @ the Wreck. K?
Me: I don’t know.
Yeah, so I admit, I wanted to meet him. I just wasn’t sure I should. I needed a day to try and figure out what the hell was really going on with those two and then I could confront him in person if it came to that.
Not wanting to be a liar myself, I quickly texted Rue.
Me: Dinner tonight? Girl talk?
Rue: Can’t. Business dinner. After?
Me: Sure. Ice cream and doughnuts?
Rue: Absolutely!
Later than night, while waiting for Rue to get home, I watched bad reality TV, which seemed to reinforce the likelihood that West was a dirtbag who only thought with his dick and that I was probably being played, along with Aubrey, and whoever he’d done at the hotel the night he gave me a ride home. My anger was rising when my phone buzzed.
Rue: Sorry, girl. Saw this Adonis as I was leaving and am having drinks.
Quelling my frustration, I turned the television off and picked up a book instead. Two hours later, I was convinced West had to be some poor, misunderstood prince-in-disguise who just needed the right girl to open his heart of stone. Someone like me.
My phone buzzed again.
Rue: I’m sorry, but I can’t resist! He says he’s pierced! You know how long I’ve been waiting to try that. I’ll bring Krispy Kreme for breakfast, I promise!
Me: Be safe and have fun. Forget about the doughnuts, meeting Theo at the gym, then work.
Rue: Ok! Sorry! Later this week?
Me: Sure. And I want details!
Rue: ;-)
I wanted to be mad at Rue for flaking on me, but it was hard to hold onto it when I pictured her following a hardware-sporting Adonis with her tongue hanging out and a zombie-like expression on her face. In my mind, zombie-Rue was under Adonis’s spell, blindly trailing him and whimpering, “Must see piercing!” while she clutched at his shirt.
Happy for Rue, but annoyed with myself for letting West consume my thoughts, I tossed the book aside and booted up my laptop. I had one last backup method to take my mind off him. Calling up Pinterest, I typed “male model” in the search bar and daydreamed. The girly side of me enjoyed the eye candy for what it was, reminding myself that there were plenty of hot guys out there besides West. The photographer side of me took notes, paying attention to camera angles, lighting, poses, props, and staging. I tried not to compare the guys I was ogling to West, and was only partially successful.
My flimsy resolve annoyed me. I was turning into the kind of girl other girls mocked on those reality TV shows I was watching earlier. I like him. No, I don’t. Yes, I do. No, I really don’t. Yes, I do. Barf. It made me think of that bug from the cartoon movie, the one that was mesmerized by the bug zapper and kept drifting toward it, crooning, “I can’t help it. It’s soooo beautiful.”
Zap!
I did not want to be just another West Montgomery casualty.
CHAPTER 11
“Remember that redhead I mentioned the other day?” Theo watched me work my triceps on one of the machines. “I think she’s stalking me. She was supposed to leave after the weekend, but it’s been another week, and she’s still here. And I keep seeing her everywhere.”
“Are you really complaining?” My voice was laced with skepticism.
“Yeah. It’s weird. She’s obsessed or something.”
“Obsessed?”
“I dunno. Maybe? I’ve seen her at work, at Starbucks, the drugstore, the freaking gas station.”
“It’s a small island,” I pointed out. “Maybe it’s coincidence?”
“I think this is the only place she hasn’t tracked me yet,” he said, muscling through a set of chin-ups on the machine next to me. “And that’s only because I parked two blocks away, in front of the Starbucks.”
“So, will she be at the resort today? And does she have a name? I feel bad calling her ‘the redhead.’”
“Probably. And it’s Chelsea.”
“Well, that should be easy enough to deal with. Just tell her that you and I started seeing each other in the meantime, and that I’m the jealous type. If she shows up, we can flirt like crazy until she gets the message.”
“You think that’ll work?” Theo sounded dubious.
“What? I’m not good enough for you?” I teased.
“No, no, it’s not that. I just don’t want her going after you or anything. It’s bad enough that I keep bumping into her everywhere.”