My Grumpy Old Bear - Jayda Marx Page 0,59
you and for your honesty about the old man. I’m still nervous about how everything will go tonight, but I hope he understands. I’m ready to move forward with our relationship. You’re a great guy and a great boyfriend. See you at 6.
My pulse raced in my chest while my face and fingers went tingly and cold. There’s someone else. I read the message three more times and couldn’t find any other explanation. Noah’s seeing someone else. Pain tore through my chest as my soul ripped in two. What the fuck does he mean ‘see you at 6’? Realization dawned on me and I actually gasped out loud. This guy was meeting us tonight. His words circled my head; Thank you for your honesty about the old man. I hope he understands. I’m ready to move forward with our relationship. You’re a great boyfriend. This wasn’t a romantic date; this was a breakup.
This fucker Jay was stealing Noah from me. But why do it like this? Did Noah want me to see them together? Was he trying to convince me they were a better match or something? Was he trying to let me down easy? Was that the purpose of the flowers? Is that why Noah didn’t want to make love to me; he was saving it for this other guy? How long has this been going on? I grew dizzy as I thought of all the texting Noah had been doing lately. He wasn’t dealing with work; he was talking to his other boyfriend. Have they been meeting up? Have they been fucking? My stomach rolled at the thought. Shit, we haven’t used protection. Have they? Could I have caught something?
My mind was spinning as Noah stepped into the room. “Well, I don’t have a fancy suit, but do I look okay?” He held his arms out, motioning to his black dress pants and powder blue dress shirt. I was too angry and broken to do anything other than glare. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I could only imagine the look of fury I was giving him. Noah sat on the couch beside me and put his hand on my thigh, which I quickly pulled away. “Honeybear?”
“Don’t call me that,” I growled.
“Brooks, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” His eyes shot quickly back and forth between mine.
I swallowed hard to keep my emotions in check. “Jay texted you,” I spat. “Thanking you for convincing him to go out with you and that he’ll see you at six.” I stared at him, desperately hoping he’d say he had no clue what I was talking about, or that it’d been a wrong number. Instead, he let out a deep breath and looked down at his knees.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have hidden it from you. I thought once you two met, you’d understand why I kept it a secret. I didn’t want to mention anything until I was sure it’d work out.”
Rage burned in my gut. Noah was using me as a fucking backup plan. If his new relationship didn’t work, he had me to fall back on. Apparently things were going great between them and he was ready to leave my ass behind.
“I was so wrong about you,” I muttered, working hard to keep my voice from cracking with the emotions bubbling inside me. “I opened my heart to you. I told you things I’d never told anyone; felt things for you I thought I’d never feel. And then you ruin everything by pulling this shit.”
“Brooks, I’m so sorry. I should have told you. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.”
“You didn’t think this would fucking hurt me?” I exclaimed. Noah tried to take my hand, but I whipped it away from him. “Don’t touch me.” I didn’t know where his hands had been. “How long has this been going on?”
Noah’s eyes glistened with moisture as he looked at me, breathing heavily. “For a couple of weeks,” he finally answered.
“Get out.”
He blinked hard and tears streamed down his cheeks. “What?”
“You’ve got five minutes to get your shit and get out of my house.”
“Brooks, please, I can explain! I-”
“Five minutes.” Even though I was furious with him, my heart still squeezed at the sight of him breaking down in front of me. His face flooded with tears and his lip trembled. He shook his head like he was trying to convince himself this wasn’t happening. I fought the urge to reach out and dry his cheeks or brush his