Page 114 of Vengeance

“Tell me something,” she says, and turns to face Diane squarely. “Did you ever fuck my husband?”

“Never. I tried. God, did I try. The only night that I even got what some may consider to be close was the night I got the picture of him. But even shitfaced, he refused me. Not that he could have performed if he wanted to, and he turned me down because of you.”

The tiny bit of doubt she had that Colt stepped out on her disappears. “What'd you do?”

“When?”

“That night.”

“I stripped him completely naked and offered to give him the time of his life. He told me how he missed sex with you and then told me that you could be in porn. When I said I could probably rival you, he pushed my head away. Gotta say, not many men turn me down, and it hurt my pride a little.”

Laughing, Lex looks away. “God, he really likes to tell people that, doesn't he?”

“Do you have a special trick or something?” Diane asks with a chuckle. “Because I always thought I could suck nails from a board, but it sounds like you have a whole other skill set.”

“I don't think it's that special, but he does. Usually lasts about five minutes when I go down on him.”

“I'm also sorry for the things I wrote in that letter. Especially about your children. That was... God, that was such a dick move. For some reason, I played these stupid games. I think in a way I wanted people to be in pain because I was in pain, which is so fucking stupid. Sometimes I wonder why I do the things I do.”

Looking at the ground, Lex nods. “You wouldn't have been given the tools to break me if he hadn't told you things, so it's not completely your fault. And I appreciate the apology.”

“I know we won't be friends anytime soon, but I was hoping we could be cool.”

“Why does it matter?”

“I'm not a club bunny anymore. Or a club kitten, which is what I was. I met someone I want to try to build a real relationship with, and he wants the same. It's scary because I think we're both equally broken, which begs the question of whether this could be something really great or something really terrible.”

She snaps her head up to look at Diane. “Which member?”

“West.”

“You want to be cool with me because you're hoping for Old Lady status.”

“I want to be cool with you because I'm trying to be a different person. When the Slashers' prospects took me, they didn't realize I was nobody important and wasn't worth the effort. That no one would care that I was missing. I'm tired of being someone no one cares about. I want to be someone that another person, even just one, worries about. Who would notice that I've gone missing, and I need to accept accountability for the damage I caused people.”

The sincerity seems to be there, but part of her wants to continue hating Diane. She created so many issues, but she also pushed Lex to the point she needed to in order to get out of the shitty situation she'd allowed herself to stay stuck in for far too long. If it wasn't for her lovely little care package, who knows where she'd be right now.

“The only way we can be totally cool is if I knock your ass on the ground, but considering the Slashers already did that to you, it doesn't really seem fair.”

Diane jumps up and stands in front of her, holding her hands out. “Do it.”

“Are you sure? I don't hit like a girl.”

She nods. “Please.”

Standing up, Lex shrugs. “Okay.”

Turning her body to the right, she winds up and whips her full body strength into Diane, her fist connecting with her jaw. Diane’s feet lift off the ground, and she falls, her hand on her face.

“Fuck,” she says and holds her face. “You really don't hit like a girl.”

She reaches down and offers her hand. “I warned you.”

“Yes, you did,” she says and accepts her hand. “Are we really cool?”

That's an excellent question. “We can be. On two conditions.”

“Okay.”

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