Page 28 of The Final Straw

“You’re not a moron,” Kipp growls. “Grady was just caught off guard, is all. Right, babe?”

“Yeah. I just wasn't expecting you to say that. It surprised me, but I get what you meant,” Grady rattles.

“Sorry, I made brunch awkward.” I look at the wooden table, annoyed that I ruined our time.

“You didn’t make it awkward. However, if this is something we’re going to be making long-term, we should probably have a talk on the topic. You’re still young and may want kids. Grady and I already know where the other stands on kids.” Kipp's voice fades as our food arrives.

“Anything else I can get you?” the waitress asks.

“We’re good, thanks,” Grady tells her and she leaves us, heading to handle her other tables.

“I want kids someday. But not any ti—” I drop my fork to the table as my eyes widen, locking on the front door. There, staring at me with eyes full of pain, is Van. “Shit,” I hiss.

Van moves further into the bistro, letting the door close behind him, but his eyes never leave mine.

I look away, eyes darting from Kipp to Grady. “Can we get boxes and leave?”

“Yeah. Is everything okay?” Kipp asks.

“No,” I mutter. Running into Van was not even a blip on my radar. I never even considered it could be a possibility, and that was stupid of me. This town isn’t that large and now here we are; him glaring at me like I’m the one who betrayed him and not the other way around.

“That’s her ex,” Grady whispers. “The one Barbi… you know.”

I keep my eyes on Van, seeing if there is something different about him, or maybe something I missed when we were together. Grady and Kipp, I’m sure, think that my staring is a red flag of me not being over him.

Truthfully. I’m not. It’s not been that long, and I had no closure, just a video and a big fuck you from Barbi. But now I’m running my eyes over him, wondering how I missed that he was just another asshole who wanted to get his dick wet the minute I left town.

Van looks behind him to the sidewalk before he looks my way again and winces. I’d know that look anywhere; he’s worried, panicked actually. He’s meeting someone here.

The bastard is staring at me ‘cause he knows I’ll see. He’s not thinking I betrayed him. He's concerned about getting caught again.

I know I’m here with two other men, so this is a total pot calling the kettle black situation, but I don’t want to see him with someone else. Not yet. I’m not ready.

I look at the guys. “I'd like to go.”

“I’ll take you out the back so you don’t have to speak to him, unless you want to, that is.” Grady grabs my hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing my knuckles.

A low growl sounds from across the bistro. Van is furious. He narrows his eyes and his nostrils flare. He doesn’t like what he sees either. Good.

Now, imagine seeing me being fucked by these two and you’ll feel what I did.

“I’m good,” I tell them without a second thought.

“Kipp will pay the bill and get boxes. Let’s go, baby.” Grady stands and holds out a hand. I push away from the table, stand up, and take his hand. He escorts me toward the back, past the bathrooms, and out the patio door.

We round the building back to their car and Grady opens the back door, allowing me to climb into the backseat. He gets in next to me and we wait quietly for Kipp to come to the car. My heart is beating erratically in my chest and I feel like I’m about two seconds from having a panic attack.

Grady puts a hand on my thigh and lightly squeezes. “It’s okay, Ollie. We’re in the car and leaving. Just breathe, baby.”

Tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I won’t cry anymore over that bastard. I look out the front window, counting the people as they walk past, trying to get myself back under control.

My attempts are futile when none other than Barbi rounds the corner and heads to Gwen's. Of course, it’s her that Van is meeting. I should have known.

Since I'm kinda seeing someone—well, two someones—it shouldn’t hurt. And yet it does. There is a piece of me that still loves him, and well, I was hoping he and Barbi were a one-and-done thing, but now they’re meeting for a mid-day date. I feel sick to my stomach.

This whole thing is so fucked up and it’s shown me I’m not ready to do anything long-term or serious with Kipp and Grady. I need it to stay superficial, just a fun way to blow off steam.

Chapter 15

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