Eric laughed. “You don’t know her.” He was such a liar. “She wants a relationship. I don’t.”
“She realized this going in, didn’t she? I mean from what I’ve heard, your reputation precedes you.”
Eric grew immediately defensive even if he knew Brandon was right. It felt as if everyone talked about him. His private life wasn’t private at all.
Not like he’d hidden anything either. He put it all out there for everyone to see.
“I—like her,” Eric confessed, grimacing the moment the three words left him. “I don’t want to hurt her. But I don’t know how to do this.” He waved a hand in the air.
“Do what, a relationship? Of course you know how. We were together for a couple of years,” Brandon reminded him.
“Yeah, but that was different. And it got all screwed up by Alexa.” Eric caught sight of the frown on Brandon’s face and pointed at him. “Don’t deny it. You know it’s true.”
Brandon sighed. “Listen. If you really like this woman, then you need to go back to her and tell her. Don’t fuck it up. If she wants to be with you regardless of what you’ve been doing these last few months, then she must really care for you. Don’t let her get away.”
“I could give you the same advice,” Eric said, his voice soft. “If you don’t want to lose Alexa, then you two should work it out. And not by inviting me back into the mix, either.”
Brandon grew sheepish. “Did Alexa talk to you?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know about that?”
Shit. He was about to give himself away. Of course, Alexa would blab all anyway and Brandon would know he’d been with Stacy. What a tangled up mess this was. “She told Stacy and Stacy told me.”
Brandon frowned. “You know Stacy?”
“Yeah.” Eric grew uneasy, shifted his weight on the barstool. “She’s the one I’m talking about. Me and Stacy—we’ve been together.”
“You and Stacy? Alexa’s best friend?” Brandon threw back his head and laughed. Laughed so hard he caused more than a few bar patrons to look their way in question. Eric slapped him on the shoulder to get him to shut up. “This is fucking crazy. How did you end up hooking up with her?”
“I saw her at this very bar one night.” Brandon started to laugh again and Eric nudged him. “I’m serious. We started talking and next thing I knew…”
“You were fucking her,” Brandon finished bluntly.
“No.” Eric shook his head. “I was chasing her.”
“You chased her?”
“Yeah.” Eric smiled. “I did.”
He did. Somehow, in all the bullshit he forgot. How bad he wanted her, how bad he needed to be with her. He’d taken a risk and then crapped all over it. He was such an idiot.
She’d already given him a second chance. A third, a fourth, probably even a fifth. Would she give him another? Or would she shun him forever?
It was time for him to man up and beg for her forgiveness.
And give her what she wanted.
Chapter Seven
The unexpected knock on her door came five nights after she and Eric had the big blowout. Five long days and nights it had taken Eric to come back to her.
Stacy knew without a doubt it was him. Who else would rap on her door with such fierce intensity past nine o’clock on a Thursday night?
She went to the door and checked through the peephole. Yep, there he stood. Looking far too good for words, his hair neatly groomed, which was unusual, and his face clean-shaven. He was dressed nice, as if he had plans to go somewhere and she wondered if she was included in those plans.
And immediately berated herself for even thinking such a thing. She didn’t need to go anywhere with him. She shouldn’t even open the door. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness.