One and Done - S. Briones Lim Page 0,39

tank of cold water, I was instantly jarred awake. Like a devil and angel on both sides of me, I fought an internal battle that I knew I could never win.

What the hell are you doing here? Go!

But I want—need—to be with her again.

Do you want to lose everything you worked so hard to build?

But I’m a better person now. I worked hard to get to this point to come back to her.

So you can mess her up again?

I’m far better than that now. I’m a changed person.

Is she?

Always a masochist, I knew there was no way I could avoid her. I just needed to find the right balance to make sure we wouldn’t mess each other’s lives up again.

I wasn’t sure that was possible.

Chapter 16

Rocky has a boyfriend.

Let me repeat: Rocky has a boyfriend!

So much for finding a right balance. Shock cannot begin to describe the myriad of emotions that tickled every artery, vein, and organ inside of me, though envy may be a closer word.

To make matters worse, he was a total douche! To be fair, he wasn’t as bad as I remembered Dwight to be, and sure, I guess I could kind of see where females may appreciate the mess you call his face. He looked like he could be on one of those corny TV soap operas or at the very least a pop star that adorned the postered wall of a prepubescent girl. Yet I had no idea what Rocky saw in him. She was so much better than him. Shit, even I wanted to punch him in the face the moment I laid eyes on him.

I guess guys like him always won.

After successfully dodging Rocky for the past two days—yeah, yeah, I was a chicken—I had pushed open the heavy orange door toward the breakroom for my lunch break and skidded to a stop. I felt the hinge to my jaw give way as I took in the sight in front of me. Rocky was eating lunch, but she definitely was not alone.

Perfectly coiffed blond hair, bleached white straight teeth—this dude was definitely some silver spooned prep. He caught my eye and threw me a strained smile, leaning toward Rocky protectively. “It’s okay, my man. Just having lunch with Rocky.”

I wasn’t sure if that counted as an invitation to join them. Not that I would have wanted to. I felt my eyes twitch, but tried my best to remain guarded. “I see.”

Had I not been mortified, I would have found it in myself to laugh at poor Rocky. Her eyes wide with a mouth full of lettuce, she looked as if she had just walked in on somebody receiving a blow job…most likely something she’s done before. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I pushed it away, feeling disgusted with myself. Guess I never really grew out of my jealous streak.

Somehow swallowing her mouthful of salad, she cringed slightly and said in an artificially high pitched voice, “Ethan, this is my old friend, Jesse. He just started working for us yesterday.”

Friend. Was I even that to her anymore?

Her eyes bounced wildly, looking everywhere around the room except at me. “Jesse, this is Ethan. He’s…uh….we…uh…”

Good. At least that means they’re not serious.

Good? Where the hell did that come from? Just yesterday I was hesitant to go near her and now…

Now you’re back in Bethel Hills, lover boy. You’ve always wanted what you could never have and you know that’s Rocky.

Fucking devil. Too bad he was right. How did I even think I could come back to see her and not fall for her again? I don’t think I ever fell out of love with her to begin with. Every decision I ever made in Charleston had her in mind. Even letting her go was about her.

It’s the reason you took this job, Jesse. You want Rocky.

The revelation shook me to the core. There really was no denying it. I stared at the couple uncomfortably and bit back a laugh when Ethan gritted his teeth and replied, “No labels.”

“No labels.” I was grinning smugly and I knew it.

“Old friends, huh? How long have you known each other?” Ethan’s eyes bounced between us, narrowing in suspicion. I knew that look all too well. He was definitely jealous, so why not make him squirm a little?

“We’ve been friends since we were fourteen,” I replied. Yup, a long time, you tool.

“Wow, almost ten years. That’s impressive!”

“We lost touch a few years back,” Rocky interjected, staring daggers at