“Another man is not gonna come along,” he informed me and I stared.
Then I asked, “What?”
“You are not movin’ onto another guy,” he crossed his arms on his chest and finished, “Ever.”
“That choice is not yours.”
“Yeah it is,” he returned swiftly. “You can’t give away what’s mine.”
“You aren’t getting this, Chace, but just now, I took it back.”
“Can’t take back what’s mine either.
God! He wanted to go, why wouldn’t he just go?
I had to shut this down.
“I thought you were tired,” I reminded him.
“Thought of movin’ on,” he stated and I was back to staring.
Then I thought I got it, it hurt but whatever. I had wine and, tomorrow, I’d call the girls and then, in about fifty years, I’d get better so I invited, “There’s the door. Move on.”
“Was this close to it,” he continued.
“Chace –”
“Then you came back into town.”
I felt my head jerk in surprised confusion.
Chace kept speaking.
“Decided with one look at you, I’d put up with it, all the shit that was gettin’ worse at work ‘cause my end game would be you.”
Was he saying what I thought he was saying?
“The town’s sweet, cute, quiet, pretty librarian in my bed, my ring on her finger, enjoyin’ it as I taught her how to enjoy it, plantin’ my babies in her, building a family.”
Holy fraking frak!
He was saying what I thought he was saying!
No, he was saying more.
I stopped breathing.
He continued talking.
“One look, at the grocery store, you in the aisle, your nose in a book. Stared at you, so f**kin’ cute, but I had no clue how you could shop and keep your nose in a book. But there you were, doin’ it. You looked up, saw someone you knew, smiled at them and I knew eatin’ all that shit at work would be worth it when I was ready to make my play. That cute in my bed. That hair. Those eyes. That smile. Definitely worth it. So I ate it, bidin’ my time, gettin’ the wild out of me so all I’d give you was sweet. You’d move to Gnaw Bone, Chantelle, I knew you would so I could kiss that bullshit good-bye, get myself out of it without takin’ you away from the folks you loved when I claimed you.”
Holy frickity fraking frak, frak, frak!
I forced air in my lungs.
Chace moved toward me and kept talking.
“Waited too long.”