Page 88 of Ghosted By Texas

The woman whose warmth seeped into my side, who I’d just made love to, and spent one of the collective best nights of our lives together, was something I couldn’t give up. I knew that even as I tried to come to grips about what that might mean for me and Jordan. I wasn’t an idiot, like my brother kept trying to tell me. There wasn’t a way to keep them both. Having Becs in my life meant the dynamic between Jordan and me had to change.

I turned and snuggled further into Becs, aligning our bodies so that I was wrapped around her like the big spoon. Having her in my arms, after our perfect night together, there was no choice to be made. I’d already made it. For better or worse, Becs was my future. Where that left Jordan, I couldn’t be certain. It all hinged on how well she took the news that my girlfriend was my priority and would eventually become my wife.

I finally drifted off to sleep, knowing in my heart that I’d made the right decision this time. Becs didn’t want to possess me the way my best friend did, she simply wanted to be loved and love back. I could have kicked myself for ever doubting her, or our relationship, before.

~*~

I woke to the sound of someone beating down my front door. That was unlikely since it was a solid oak door sitting in a steel frame, but whoever was at my house was giving it their best try. I slid away from Becs and rolled out of the bed as she groaned her disappointment.

“It’s probably Dallas being an ass as usual. You would think he didn’t have his own place to go at night,” I quickly placated her as I pulled on a pair of sweatpants that had been sitting on top of my dresser. Becs didn’t say anything, and I hoped she would roll back over and slip back into a peaceful slumber, but for that to happen, I needed to go take care of whoever was banging my door down.

I slid out of the room and down the stairs to the door before disarming the alarm and opening up to find a harassed looking Jordan standing there.

“What in the hell is going on?” I asked her.

She pushed past me into the house, which wasn’t going to fly if Becs woke up and came downstairs to find her there. At least my friend wasn’t wearing lingerie this go round, as she had been in the past.

“We need to talk, Austin.”

“It’s the middle of the fucking night, Jordan.” She laughed at me, but it sounded more unhinged than humorous.

“It’s morning, you giant dick! Ask me how I know exactly what time it is. Go on! Ask me!”

“I don’t have time to play stupid games with you, Jordan. You need to come back at another time and call first while you’re at it. This shit,” I pointed to my door that had actual fucking scuff marks along the bottom from where she must have been kicking it to make the ungodly noise she’d been making, “is not okay.”

“Do you really think it’s okay to have me work your shifts, so you can go galivanting off with the whore who keeps causing trouble in our friendship? She doesn’t want me around you, so you drop me, and worse, think it’s okay to make me work your shift while I have to imagine all night what you’re getting up to with her?”

I was stunned stupid for a minute. What in the absolute fuck was she babbling about? If I didn’t know any better, she sounded more like a jealous wife, who was being cheated on, than a platonic friend who had to work at the bar because she was scheduled to.

“It’s not like that, and you know it, Jordan.”

“Oh, no I don’t. I’m sick of her ass coming into your life and pushing me out. The last time you two got together, I had to leave town for you, so that she wouldn’t see me. Now, I’m working your shifts for the same damn reason.”

My brother, Dallas, had been the one working my shifts for me, so that I could come in and get the business end of things taken care of while Becs worked at the school. Jordan didn’t know that though because we hadn’t spoken much over the past couple weeks, and it wasn’t her fucking business to know what Dallas, Houston, or I arranged for the schedule, since we were her bosses in that respect.

“I was right to ask you to leave back then. You proved that by the stunt you pulled showing up to my place in your underwear on Valentine’s Day. My girlfriend saw you that night and never bothered to come to the door again. You can’t tell me you didn’t arrange that on purpose.”

The smirk, and smug set of her jaw behind it, made me take a step back in complete shock. I didn’t know the woman who stood in front of me. Becs had been right. Jordan orchestrated that whole thing and probably stood in that window, for as long as she had, to make sure she’d was seen that night. When Jordan started to chuckle lightly, my temper flared.

“I don’t think it’s amusing,” I bellowed at her, wanting to thrash her with my words, since I couldn’t do it with my fists. If my best friend had been a man who tried to sabotage my relationship with Becs, I’d have thrown punches already.

“Well, too fucking bad, Austin! I’ve been in love with you my whole life. Do you think I find it amusing that I’m working extra shifts so that you can go play with some whore you have a temporary infatuation with?”

“Keep your voice down!” I knew she was being loud on purpose, and I glanced up to see if her antics had managed to rouse Becs from our bed yet. Jordan didn’t miss the look I sent toward the stairs.

“What. The. Fuck. Austin?” My former best friend screamed at me. “Did you bring your whore to this house? You promised you wouldn’t do that. This is our space.”

Jordan had well and truly fallen off the deep end. This house had never been a shared space. She had only been to the house a few times, and that was when Victoria brought her, because I didn’t want her to start feeling too comfortable here.

“Jordan, this is my house, and I can-” She cut me off before I could tell her that I could bring whoever the hell I wanted home with me, and she needed to get over the fact that it had never been a choice to bring my her there. The space had always been meant for Becs – the love of my fucking life.

“We picked everything for this house together, including the bed you probably have that bitch tucked up in.”

The outright lie sent my anger into the stratosphere as I took a few deliberate steps further back from Jordan. “I don’t know what fucking game you think you’re playing here, Jordan, but you just crossed a line that can’t be uncrossed. You’re going to scream lies and bullshit in my house to drive Becs away? Really? I’m standing right here and know that shit isn’t true. You never even liked this house, let alone picked shit out for it. You’ve certainly never even seen my bed here, let alone been in it.”

Her eyes tracked something upstairs while I’d been talking and then the look of triumph that crossed her face, told me Becs must have overheard at least part of our conversation. I’d go reassure her in just a minute and then we wouldn’t have to worry about Jordan ever interfering again because she’d just burned our friendship to the fucking ground.

“We’re fucking done here. You need to get out and don’t even think about coming back.” Jordan’s eyes widened in surprise before they dropped to her feet. Her shoulders slumped in defeat before she raised her eyes to meet my furious ones again.

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