could have possibly liked that she slept with.
That’s when it hit me—Corey.
Bailey claimed he got around—at least in the past—and clearly so did she. Oh Lord— no, no, no—please don’t tell me they hooked up over the years. Corey ran a bar with his apartment directly above it. It had been easy as pie to get myself an invitation into his bedroom—I’m sure if she wanted to, she could have had one too. I hoisted myself from the floor and ran into the kitchen, still crying.
Before grabbing my house phone to dial Corey, I yanked my tequila out of the freezer and downed two long pulls from the bottle. This did nothing to silence the cries or dry the tears, but that wasn’t going to stop me from calling Corey.
“Hey, what’s…” He answered on the third ring.
“D’ you sleep with a slut named Jayme Macintyre??” I could hardly understand what I was saying through my slurred, weepy words. I didn’t imagine Corey knew either.
“Danielle, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Answer the question!!” I screamed out.
“Did I sleep with who?” Corey didn’t bother hiding how worried he was for me in my hot-mess-state.
“Jayme Macintyre, she’s my age!”
“No I haven’t. Name sounds familiar, I’m sure she came into the bar and I carded her, but that’s it.” It took me a minute to calm down, before responding with my drunken blubbering speech.
“Promise me you’ll never sleep with that whore!”
“Danielle, what the hell is this about? What happened?”
“Promise me, damnit! I swear to God, Corey, I’ll never forgive you if you do!”
“I don’t want Jayme, and I can promise you I won’t hook up with her.”
“Good.” That promise at least took some of the weight from my heaving heart.
“Danielle, answer me! What’s wrong with you?” The panic in his voice had me feeling guilty over calling. He was busy with his own life; the bar, his sisters, he deserved better than to deal with a disastrous fool like me. “Nothing, I’m fine. G’Night.” Corey began to respond but I hung up and took a few more pulls from the bottle. My knees gave way as I dropped down to the kitchen floor and continued my ridiculous bawling.
How could I have been so stupid to trust her? If I would have kept to myself all those years—things would have been different. Oliver would have seen me in a different light, he would have called me back and I wouldn’t have ran away.
My vision blurred from the tears and ruined make up streaking down my face, as I cried uncontrollably. Every time I tried to get a handle on things, I once again failed and ended up a bigger mess than before. If that was possible. The sound of my front door whooshing open and slamming shut startled me, but it was only moments before Corey appeared in front of me.
“Damnit Dani.” He cursed, scooping me into his arms. I was finally off the cold tile floor and securely pressed against Corey’s warm body. It was seconds before I let myself curl into the safety of his chest; breathing in the familiar scent I loved so much. He walked us into my room and set me down on the bed before turning on my bedroom light.
“What happened, baby?” His hands rested against my thighs as he knelt in front of me.
“She ruined my goddamn life. How could I have trusted her! She knew I was in love with him!” Corey’s jaw visibly tensed, as did the grip on my legs.
“In love with whom?”
“Back then, in high school. I told her everything. Turns out I was only feeding my enemy information to use against me. Do you know she married my first boyfriend and kept the boy I loved away from me?” Through the hysteria in my voice and liquor in my body, I’m sure wasn’t allowing my thoughts to come out very clear.
“Slow down; help me understand what you’re talking about.” Bless this man and his unfailing patience.
“Jayme! She was my best friend in high school. After I slept with Oliver, she knew how badly I wanted him to call. How badly I wanted him—and she’s the direct cause of why he never said anything to me.”
“When the hell did you sleep with Oliver?” There was a fire in his eyes, and if I didn’t know better it looked like some level of jealousy was taking over. I’m sure it was just me seeing things, though.
“Senior year.” Corey blew out a sigh and it softened his