I stare at the text messages, reading them over and over again. The first two were from last night after I fell asleep. The rest are from the last few hours.
Reading between the lines, I can almost hear the panic in his voice. He’s freaking out. He should. Maybe if he’d cared enough back then, he would have thought twice about what he did. Maybe he wouldn’t have made the same decision. Maybe he wouldn’t have stuck his dick in her, in our house, over and over again.
Honestly, I don’t care who knows what happened anymore. I did nothing to deserve it. I was good to him. For years. Gave him everything he wanted, or so I thought.
My fingers hover over the keyboard, poised to type a witty reply when I stop myself.
He doesn’t deserve anything from me. Not a reply. He’s sure as hell not getting an apology. Not even a goodbye.
But unless I reply, he’s not going to stop texting. There’s only one thing I can think of that will make him go away willingly.
ME: I think you have the wrong phone number, dude.
Ha! I had to throw in the “dude” so he assumed he messaged a guy.
Ten minutes later when my phone is still silent, I praise myself for being the bigger person and walking away without a fight. Honestly, I don’t have enough fight left in me to go toe to toe with him anymore. He’s a part of my past, and I want him to stay there.
WREN: Nice try. This conversation isn’t over. As soon as you’re back in town, we will talk. Whether you want to or not.
Well, fuck me. Now I actually have to change my phone number. I probably should have a long time ago anyway.
A sudden knock at my door has me dropping my phone on the floor and kicking it under the sofa as I jump. The door opens as I’m bent over, trying to grab it with my fingertips, but it’s out of reach.
“Need a hand?” Jace asks.
That voice. God... it’s probably a good thing I didn’t ask him to stay last night. He wanted to. I saw it in his eyes but knew if I let him, things would get physical, and as much as the idea of being with Jace excites me, I’d rather not have the moment captured on camera.
Not that things were purely innocent. We made out for over an hour. Hands were roaming. I felt how turned on he was as I sat on his lap. There was no doubt in my mind what would have happened if he stayed, which was why he had to leave.
Looking over my shoulder I find him appraising me with his eyes. The tiny shorts I’m wearing leave little to the imagination, especially with me on my hands and knees.
Pushing myself off the floor, I motion toward the sofa, and Jace kneels, reaches under, and retrieves my phone. The screen is lit up with another text, I’m assuming from Wren. Handing it back to me, Jace raises his left brow in curiosity.
“I’m guessing he saw me on the show. He’s pissed I let the entire world know what an ass he was to me,” I explain as I look down at the last text Wren sent.
WREN: Have fun with your new boy toys. Not that either of them will ever treat you as well as I did.
“And you’re talking to him, why? Seems to me he doesn’t deserve a second of your attention.”
“He doesn’t, but he won’t shut up. I even tried telling him he had the wrong number, but he called me out.”
“May I?” Jace asks, extending his hand for the phone.
“Knock yourself out,” I state firmly, dropping my phone into his palm.
He spends a few minutes typing, pausing, typing again, and when he’s satisfied, hands my phone back to me for approval.
JACE: You really shouldn’t threaten women. It makes you less of a man, dude. You should treat them like they’re your queen. Show a little respect. If this chick doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, let her go. Also, your text had me intrigued, so I did a little digging, and this Presley chick is hot. You royally fucked yourself there. Hope the new chick was worth it.
“That’s going to piss him off even more. I think I might need to actually change my number as soon as this is over. Until then, I’ll ignore him.”
Jace nods in understanding before pulling me into his arms and pressing a kiss to my temple. “If you need me to send more taunting texts, just let me know. I’ll fuck with his mind for you. It’ll be fun.”
I can’t help but giggle at the thought of Jace texting with Wren, the pissed off look on Wren’s face as he reads the messages while Jace smirks as he sends each one. God, if they ever met... all hell would break loose. Jace towers over him by at least three inches and is built like a brick house. Wren is muscular but nothing compared to Jace.
It wouldn’t be a fair fight. Fine by me. Maybe a little physical pain would be good for Wren since he seems to be on the giving end of pain normally.
Jace spent the next two hours distracting me. Not only from Wren’s texts that kept coming but also from the elimination tonight. I knew what he was doing. He was making the most of the time we had left together in case this was the last day for one of us.