like a frightened animal, and I’m going to catch her and soothe her back to good health.
“Stop,” she whispers, her voice small. “I left you.” The words are barren of emotion, almost like she’s trying to ice over. It’s too late for that, sweetheart. I’ve already melted those walls. You just forgot.
“I’ll never stop. We’re inevitable.”
Her eyes glaze, and her back hits the wall, making several pictures wiggle above her. She looks up, and by the time she’s looking back down, I have her boxed in. It reminds me of all the times I’ve taken her body against a solid surface. To dig in deeper, thrust harder, taking what’s mine without plushy cushioning. She loves it, and as a tiny whimper escapes her lips, she’s loving it now too.
“You broke me.”
“You destroyed me,” I counter, feeling the pain surge. “You chose him.”
She scrunches her lips in displeasure, her face morphing into that hatred that scorches me alive. “I didn’t fuck Francis, you idiot.” She pushes at my chest. “I’d never do that to Gray, let alone you.” It’s as if she’s smacked me. I look over every inch of her face and don’t see a trace of mistruth.
“Since we’ve been together, it’s only ever been your stupid ass.”
With that, I take her smart-ass mouth with mine. She moans, and I take that too, swallowing it with every ounce of oxygen she can spare. Gripping her throat, I need that connection, to feel her heart, to have every part of her for myself, and I groan.
Tears leak from her eyes as we battle with our tongues, not knowing what to do. It’s been a year of turmoil, a year of agony, a year of missing her every fucking second.
I pull back and kiss her tears, taking each one with my lips, hoping to soothe them and never make her hurt like this ever again.
She looks at me with so much love, but the brokenness is more apparent. This is far from over, far from happiness, far from anything other than the beginning.
A throat clears behind us, and I see Ace assessing the situation. He’s such a little dick.
“This is nice and all, but take your emotional baggage somewhere private. Some of us have souls to keep away.”
“One day, you’re going to change, Ace. And when that day comes, you’re going to realize love comes in many weird forms.”
“So, if it’s anything like you or Jase’s, I’m fucked, right? Since you both can’t seem to keep your dicks to yourselves.”
I’m about to rush him and give him a good talking-to when Joey’s hand clutches mine. “He’s hurting, and you just ruined the good image he had of you.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“No, he didn’t ruin shit. He’s as worthless as Jase. You deserve better.”
“Don’t do this,” I growl, seeing the hope die from his eyes.
“I honestly thought you were better than him. Guess we’re all wrong at some point.” It’s his parting words before he walks out the door. I’ve tried to keep him somewhat humane over the years, but it seems no matter what I do, he’s not a fan.
“He’s hurting,” Joey repeats. “It’ll all change one day.”
I nod before bringing her lips to mine again.
She breaks away from my kiss, pushing me back as her eyes trail my entire face like a facial recognition scanner from some cringy sci-fi show.
“What were you doing today around noon?” she asks, her face giving nothing away. Sanje called at one. He said she made him wait an hour.
“Filing payroll in the office,” I respond immediately. It’s what I was doing. Even when Sanje called, he interrupted. Now that it isn’t filed on time, everyone’s going to be pissed when they receive their paychecks late.
“That’s all you were doing?” she pushes, and I can see how much she’s trying to keep calm. Her eyes are glossing over. It’s a tell for most people when they’re upset. People give more away than they think. Usually it’s a twitch or a smirk, but for those who have the best poker faces, it’s in the eyes.
Joey’s eyes whisper all the truths to me while her mouth tells all the lies.
I want to be angry at her for questioning me, but how can I? I’ve cheated. Slept around. Broken every sliver of trust she ever gave me.
“I swear, I was only doing payroll. When I woke up this morning, I gave you a kiss, told you I’d miss you, and checked on your mom. After drinking several cups of coffee