He knew better.
And everyone had been right. Michelle was beyond him. She was the prom queen. The classy woman. And he was the town’s hardworking blue-collar boy. The guy in dirty jeans who wanted more of her but couldn’t offer her anything more than a good time.
There is no we…
He repeated her words in his mind over and over. The cool night air did little to chill him. His veins had already iced over, and the bitter taste of the past crept up.
He was just a novelty item to her.
Always had been.
Chapter Thirteen
Michelle had never felt more depressed in her life. Even the massive double chocolate cupcake Natalie had brought to her shop wasn’t helping.
Last night, Dex had walked out. And it was her fault. Everything she’d said came out wrong. Her father insulting her was one thing, but she’d panicke
d when he was about to make her look weak in front of Dex. The one person who’d helped her be strong.
Worse than that, she’d accidentally called him “nothing” and dumped him. Funny thing was, she hadn’t even realized they were together until he’d left. But she’d never forget the look on his face.
Pain.
Pain she’d caused.
Pain that came when you were in shock from being dismissed. Dismissed like you were nothing. Like a wave of her father’s hand or an annoyed eyeroll from her mother.
“I never meant to hurt him. Never meant for those words to come out like that,” she whispered. Because Dex was everything. She didn’t want him to think she’d been using him. Didn’t want him to think she couldn’t take care of herself. Dex valued strength, and her father had tried to take that from her. In front of the one man who made her feel like more.
“I messed up,” she said to Natalie. In trying to stand tall, she’d cut off Dex at the knees.
Thankfully her parents had left the other night, and Michelle had stayed in town. She wouldn’t run home. Not yet. She was clinging to the last bit of strength she had…even though she knew it wouldn’t be enough.
She didn’t have Dex anymore. And soon she wouldn’t even have her business.
Maybe she did have to walk away. But she’d walk away with her head held high. However it played out, it would be her choice to make. Her failure or success. But Dex? She needed him. For so many reasons in so many ways.
She took another bit of the cupcake, and Natalie reached over the counter and patted her hand.
“Dex is an idiot,” she said. “You tried calling. Left a ton of messages trying to explain. So if he doesn’t want to hear your side of things, then it’s his loss.”
But Michelle couldn’t agree. Not this time. Because she’d seen the look on his face when her father had insulted him. When she had insulted him. When instead of defending Dex, Michelle had undercut him. She hadn’t meant to. She’d been nervous and scared and hadn’t known what to do. The walls were closing in, and it felt like she was being told what to do, how to live, because she was a failure. All Dex tried to do was show support. But at the same moment she’d realized just how deep that caring went, she’d been staring down her parents as they told her all the ways she was failing.
It had been too much.
It was still no excuse. She’d hurt Dex. Any apology she attempted would come too late. He was done with her anyway. Maybe he had wanted to be done with her from the beginning.
“Men and their pride are stupid,” Natalie tried again.
Michelle was grateful her friend was so gracious when it came to her feelings, but Dex’s pride wasn’t the only thing wounded. Michelle was pretty sure she’d cut to the heart of him. And that broke her own heart right back.
Michelle looked at her friend. “I told him I wanted more. Told him I was sorry…but it wasn’t enough.” It would never be enough. And no matter how many messages she’d left saying all of this, she got nothing back from him. “Maybe I built up our relationship in my mind. Made it more than it was?”
“Love is tricky,” Natalie said.
“Whoa, who said anything about love?” Michelle asked. Yes, her heart was torn in two. But love?
Natalie crossed her arms. “You’re eating your weight in chocolate, you look like hell, and if you glance at your cell phone one more time in hopes that you may have missed a silent call from him, the poor phone is going to get whiplash.”