The Crush

My heart dropped to my stomach. I looked up at Jace. “Oh no.”

He stayed cool as a cucumber. “It’s okay. We weren’t doing anything.”

Absolutely dreading it, I knew I had to open the door. When I did, I was met by Niles’s heated stare.

“What the fuck, Farrah?”

“It’s not what you think,” I pleaded.

“Really? I came by to surprise you because you said you weren’t feeling well. I spot his truck outside. Nathan’s car is nowhere in sight. Then I look in your window and see him practically kissing you, and you’re trying to tell me nothing is happening? You think I’m that stupid?”

“We didn’t kiss,” I insisted. “We were talking up close. That’s all.”

Jace intervened. “She didn’t ask for any of this. She didn’t know I was coming tonight. I just got here.”

Niles looked between us. “I don’t know what to believe right now. All I know is what I saw. And it looked like you didn’t exactly mind having him in your face.”

I chose to be honest. “I’m sorry. I’m very confused right now.”

He ignored my comment and turned to Jace.

“You think you can weasel your way back into her life? She told me how you manipulated her when she was younger and then left. Now you came back and saw she’d moved on, so you’re playing games with her again.”

Jace remained calm. “I never meant to hurt her, but don’t you claim to know anything about our history. You don’t know shit.”

Niles pointed to the door. “Can you please leave us alone?”

“Actually, no,” Jace said. “I’m not leaving her alone with you when you’re this angry.”

That didn’t surprise me, especially after Jace’s promise to protect me.

“Niles, let’s go to my room and talk in private for a minute, okay?”

With his arms crossed, Jace stayed in the same spot, standing guard as I walked away with Niles.

I closed the door to my room, and my raging boyfriend laid into me.

“I can’t believe this. What the fuck, Farrah?”

“Nothing happened beyond what you saw. We were talking, and things got a bit intense. I hadn’t expected him to come here. Jace had nothing to do with why I stayed home tonight. I didn’t lie to you.”

Niles made no effort to lower his voice. “I don’t get it. This guy tore your heart out. Why are you even talking to him, let alone allowing him to manipulate you?”

“My history with Jace isn’t something I expect you to comprehend. But it’s a part of me I can’t erase. He lives here in Palm Creek now. He’s Nathan’s best friend, and that means he’ll always be in my life.”

He slammed his hand on my bureau. “There’s no way I’m going to live in the shadow of some guy you used to fuck.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying it’s him or me. I won’t accept him coming around and brainwashing you under my nose, pretending he’s trying to protect you when he’s just trying to get in your pants again.”

I cocked my head. Maybe this was the catalyst I needed to take a break from Niles. Things hadn’t been perfect between us for a long time, even before Jace returned.

Forcing the words out, I said, “I think we need to take a break.”

Niles rubbed his temples. “I can’t believe this.” He shook his head, looking down at the ground. After a long silence, he looked up at me. “I was going to propose to you on Christmas. I hope you’re happy. Now you can stay in this shithole with your loser brother forever. I would’ve given you a good life. You never would’ve had to worry about another damn thing for as long as you lived.”

My head was spinning. Forget the proposal bombshell, but the nerve of him to call my brother a loser. He’d always patronized Nathan, and that should have been reason enough to leave him months ago. But now? I wouldn’t stand for him being so blatantly disrespectful. Not when my brother had worked so hard to turn his life around.

I smiled coldly. “Well, now you’ve just made my decision a hell of a lot easier.”

He opened the door and stormed out. “Call me when you come to your senses, but don’t ever speak to me again if you let him touch you.”

I followed him to the front door and watched him slam it as he left.

His tires screeched as he sped down the road.

Like a protective statue, Jace stood in the same spot where I’d left him. “He didn’t lay a hand on you, did he?”

Shaking my head, I rubbed my arms. “No, but he wasn’t happy.”

He came closer. “That’s my fault. But I’m not fucking sorry, Farrah. He’s not right for you. Not to mention, he’s a dick. I heard every word he said, and it took everything in me not to go in there and pop him one. Do you know how many times I’ve had to stop myself from punching that guy since the moment I met him?”