One look is all it takes to reconfirm that he got shitfaced last night. His hair is a mess, sticking up from all angles, and his eyes are bloodshot. A scowl overtakes his features as he stalks toward the small dining room table and leans against the back of a chair before crossing his arms over his chest. If he thinks the aggressive stance does anything to intimidate me, he’s sadly mistaken.
With my feet braced slightly apart, I tighten the towel around my waist. I wish to hell he’d come in five minutes later when I was dressed.
I give him a chin lift. “Hey.”
He snorts, eyes sparking with anger. “Seriously, asshole? That’s all you’ve got to say to me? Hey?”
It does seem a little inadequate, even to my own ears.
“What would you like me to say?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” He cocks his head. “How about that the situation isn’t what it looks like and you’re not actually fucking my ex.” There’s a pause. “The very same one I’ve spent months trying to get back together with. That would be an excellent place to start.”
Unable to tell him what he wants to hear, I drag a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry.”
A muscle throbs in his cheek as he clenches his jaw. His voice drops to more of a growl. “I thought you hated her guts, huh? What the fuck happened to that?”
“I never felt that way,” I mutter. Only then does it occur to me that I’ve been lying to him for far longer than I realized.
“Yeah,” he says with a bark of disbelief, “I’m beginning to piece that together.”
I shift my weight, uncomfortable with the intense scrutiny. We both realize nothing I say will make this better, but that doesn’t stop me from throwing out a platitude. “I never meant for any of this to happen. It just did.”
He jerks a brow and continues to glare. “Yeah, I seriously hate it when accidents like that occur. You’re just walking down the street, minding your own damn business and your dick falls into some chick’s pussy.”
A dull heat creeps into my cheeks. “It wasn’t like that.”
He throws his hands up in the air. “Then explain it, bro. Explain how you started boning my ex behind my back. And you didn’t even have the balls to give me a heads up. I had to find out in front of her family. Do you have any idea how messed up that is?”
It’s so damn tempting to fight back and lay the blame at his feet. If he hadn’t grabbed my phone that night and called her, none of this would be playing out. I’d still be tormenting her every chance I got, pretending to hate her.
But then I wouldn’t have Brooke.
She wouldn’t belong to me.
And there’s no way I can regret that.
“Sorry,” I say again.
He arches a brow. “That’s it? All I get is a fucking lame-ass apology?”
I jerk my shoulders. “What do you want me to say? That I’ve always had feelings for Brooke? Fine, I’ll admit it. Even before you started going out with her, I thought she was a cool chick. But she wasn’t a groupie and didn’t hang all over the football players. There was no mistaking that she had ‘relationship’ stamped all over her, so I didn’t bother pursuing anything. And then you brought her around and started dating her. Being an asshole seemed like the best way to make sure she kept her distance. It was easier to deal with the situation when she hated me.”
A mixture of shock and anger ignites in his eyes as he pushes away from the chair and stalks closer. He grinds to a halt when we’re no more than a few feet apart. Unsure of his next move, I tighten the towel around my waist.
When he stabs a finger in my direction, I brace for contact. The last thing I want is to get into a physical altercation with him, but I’m also not going to stand here and let him beat my ass.
Even if I deserve it.
“You’re un-fucking-believable. We’ve been friends since elementary school, and you go and steal my girl?”
“She hasn’t been your girl for six months.”
A growl rumbles up from deep inside him as he barrels toward me, shoving his hands against my chest. The force of it has me stumbling back a step before I’m able to steady myself.
“Fuck you! You knew how much I loved her.”
“I get that you’re pissed, but don’t blow smoke up my ass. How much could you have loved her if you cheated every damn chance you got?” Maybe that’s not what he wants to hear, but it’s the goddamn truth, and I’m tired of tiptoeing around it.
His lips flatten as he sneers. “Who the hell do you think you are, acting holier than thou? You’re no better than me. Like you haven’t been out there, fucking any girl who spread her legs for you?”