Page 36 of Dark Cravings

What the fuck had I even been thinking, believing this could work? The further I got from Shelby’s house, the more pissed off I got. She had dragged us into this and now she was unsure? Like, give me a fucking break.

I don’t need this shit in my life.

I saw Kenley’s texts but, at this point, I didn’t give a shit what she had to say. I was done. So fucking done. There were too many things stacked against us to find any sort of long-term relationship. I headed to the club, figuring I could get some more interviews set up. I hadn’t yet found a replacement for Leo.

“Hey, Thomas,” Chase said when he walked in. “I didn’t know you had a shift tonight.”

“I don’t. I needed to get out of my head, so I came in to set up some more interviews.”

“Still haven’t found a replacement?”

“Nope. I’m being so hyper-vigilant it’s just taking a while.”

“Well, there’s no harm in that. Just don’t keep yourself short for too long. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you picking up the slack. I’m sure some of the guys would love the extra shifts, so feel free to delegate.”

“You’re probably right. I guess I just didn’t want to dump on them for my mistake.”

“You couldn’t have known that things would go the way they did. He had us all fooled.”

“I guess. Anyway, I should get at it.”

“Hold on a minute. What’s got you all in your head?”

“Just the bullshit with Shelby and Kenley. It doesn’t matter, I’m done.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Thomas. I thought you guys had something good going.”

“Yeah, I did too. Just goes to show sometimes you don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on.”

“You’re sure it’s done?”

“Shelby started waffling and I don’t need that kind of drama. The three of us just never seemed to be on the same page at the same time. How long was I supposed to wait around?”

“I guess that depends on whether or not you’re bailing for a good reason. When Shelby talked to Raven, she said that you were the one who was unsure.”

“I was but then I decided to give it a shot. I didn’t know that the person who fucking pushed this was going to bail.”

“Has she, though? Or did she just kind of lose faith that you and Kenley would come around?”

“That’s not my problem anymore.”

“I can’t help but feel like you’re giving in too quickly.”

“I can’t do it, Cam. I’m not going to stick around for someone who doesn’t want me. Anyway, I’m gonna go.”

“Okay. I’m here if you need to vent,” he smiled as I headed to my office.

Is he right?

I couldn’t let myself go down that particular rabbit hole. I spent the next two hours going through resumes and setting up interviews before finally going home. I was good and fed up with today.

Three days later, even Kenley had given up. I wasn’t getting texts and phone calls from her anymore. I had just walked into the club when I stumbled across Mandy, one of my exes.

“Hey, handsome, how have you been?” She grinned. “It’s been a minute.”

“Hey, Mandy. It sure has been. I’m doing okay. What have you been up to?”

“Not much really. I’ve been working a lot of overtime lately and haven’t been able to get to the club.”

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