My heart dropped. “What did you say?”
“What did I say?” She looked at me like I had gone insane.
“Yes, Waylynn, what did you say?”
She downed the whiskey and slammed the glass on the counter. “Well, if you have to fucking ask, maybe you and I shouldn’t be dating.”
“You brought it up! What was I supposed to do? Say, oh, how nice that your ex showed up out of the blue and asked you to come back. And by the way, he’s willing to give you the baby you so desperately want with his magic impregnating dick.”
Waylynn looked away.
“So, yeah, forgive me for asking you what you said.”
Pushing off the bar, she walked toward me. “I told him no, of course! I told him about us, and he went off and rubbed the age difference in my face. That made three times today. Don’t they say, ‘three time’s the charm’?”
With a fake laugh, she dropped to the sofa. “All I wanted was for you to fuck me so I could forget about this evening.”
The sting that left in my chest hurt more than I thought it would. I knew that’s what she had been doing, but to hear her say it made it all the more worse.
“Maybe instead of forgetting about it, we should talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you about it. Don’t you get that, Jonathon?”
“No, I don’t. Why don’t you explain it to me?”
“Why are you pushing me? Stop pushing me! Fuck, you are smothering me.”
Her words felt like a slap in the face. She was drawing a line in the sand, and I didn’t know if her words were fueled by hurt feelings or the whiskey she was trying to drown her emotions in.
“Am I now? What do you want me to do, Waylynn?”
Her eyes met mine. “Leave. I want you to leave and go find a nice girl your own age who isn’t fucked up in the head. Y’all can do the whole dating thing, get engaged, married, and pop out a few kids.”
“You want me to leave? Are you sure about that?”
She stood up. “Yes.”
“Look me in the eyes and tell me you want me to leave you alone.”
Taking a few steps closer, her hands went to my chest. At first, I thought she was going to reach up and kiss me, but she didn’t. “I want you to…leave. I don’t want to date you anymore.”
“You’re drunk.”
Shrugging, she took a few steps back. “Don’t they say drunks don’t lie?”
“Please don’t do this, Waylynn.”
“Get out!” she screamed. “Just get the fuck out and don’t come back!”
Reaching for my keys, I headed toward the door. I wasn’t about to sit here and argue with someone who was two sheets to the wind.
“When you sober up, give me a call.” I left, the silence so deafening it was like a blow to my stomach.
Chapter Seventeen
Waylynn
“Want another cup of coffee?”
Rubbing my temples, I spoke softly. “Amelia, stop talking so loud.”
“I’m not talking loud. You’ve got a hangover, and it serves you right.”
I dropped my hands and stared at her. “What?”
“Jonathon told Cord what you said and did to him last night.”
A heaviness settled over my body. I had been so mean to Jonathon, and I knew it.
“It was a bad night.”
Amelia folded her arms and leaned against my sink. “It was a ‘bad night’? Seriously, Waylynn? That’s the best you can come up with for telling him to leave you alone and go find a girl his own age?”
I cringed. That part I didn’t remember. “I said that?”
“Yes, and to be honest with you, I wouldn’t blame him if he did.”
Staring into my coffee, I sighed. “Maybe I’m just not cut out for relationships.”
A loud bang outside made me jump and place my hands on my head. “What in the hell was that?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. What is the matter with you? I’ve never seen you as happy as you have been the last week. Why are you pushing him away?”
“Not now, Amelia.”
“Yes, now. Why won’t you give yourself a chance to be happy?”
I sat there with a deadpan expression.
Throwing up her hands, Amelia paced across the kitchen. “I don’t get it. You’ve got an amazing man who wants to be with you. Who wants the same things you want, but you’re so blinded you can’t see that.”
“I’m not blind, and I do see it.”
“Then what in the hell is the problem?”
This time I slammed my fists down. “I’m scared, Amelia! Damn it, I’m scared.”
Burying my face in my hands, I exhaled and tried to keep my emotions in check.
I felt my sister’s hand on my arm. “What are you scared of?”
My arms fell to my lap as I stared at Amelia. “When I met Jack, I was over the moon for him. I gave up everything to be with him, and at first, it was amazing. I felt like I was walking on clouds I was so in love with him. One day I woke up and everything changed. He didn’t greet me each morning with a kiss. He worked longer hours and spent less time with me. When I would mention the change, he would whisk me off to some exotic location and we’d have a romantic weekend, only to have the whole thing repeat itself year after year. Last night when he was here, asking me to come back, all I could think about was—why did I stay all those years? How long would I have stayed if I hadn’t caught him cheating?”