Page 76 of Sex Coach

Not knowing what else to say, I looked at the paper then just threw it down between us so that it lay on the floor, face up .

Whitley's face stared up at me, a mockery .

It just made everything that much worse .

"How could you do it?" I asked again, raw inside. "Are stories really worth that much to reporters ?"

"I'm not a reporter," she said, her voice choked. "I do freelance writing. There's a fucking difference ."

She stared at me with wounded eyes .

How could she stand there and look at me like that? She wasn't the one who'd been stabbed in the back .

"It's not just me you fucked over, you know," I said, jabbing a finger down at the paper, the one with Whitley's lovely face gazing up at us. How was I supposed to explain this to her? What was I supposed to say? I was stupid, and my dick got the better of me ?

That was going to sound really good coming from a pro .

I'd have to figure out something though, because she deserved an explanation .

As Michelle continued to watch me with wide, confused eyes, I steeled myself. She might have been playing me from the start. I had no idea, but it didn't matter .

I couldn't get sucked in again .

I was still too far from attaining my own goals and too far from being anywhere close to where I needed to be in my own life, and her machinations to get a fucking story had gone and put everything at risk .

"Jake," she said, unaware of the raging turmoil inside me. "Look, I don't know what in the world this is about..." Her eyes dropped to the paper and she took a deep, shuddering breath. "But I had nothing to do with...whatever...this is. I don't know anything about it ."

"Nothing," I said scathingly .

"No!"

"It's just pure coincidence then that the day after I told you everything that happened to Whitley, some anonymous source contacts a reporter and spills all this shit about her." I raked my hands through my hair. "You've fucking ruined her! You got any idea what the press will do to her? They'll pillory her ."

"I didn't do anything!" she shouted, her voice cracking halfway through the last word .

"What the fuck ever," I snapped. It had to be her. It was the only thing that made any sense at all. "You know what? I don't know why the hell I ever believed a single word coming out of your mouth. It's pretty damn obvious that it was a lie all the fucking time. All of it, just for a fucking story ."

"Jake!" Tears sprang to her eyes. She held out a hand but let it slowly fall back to her side. "Can you...look, can you calm down so we can talk about this ?"

"There is nothing to talk about," I said slowly. "Absolutely nothing. And there's no we . There never was. There was you and me, and we fucked. That's all there was. Now I've got to go try and fix this mess you made." I shook my head, still unable to believe it. "Thanks for probably ruining my life, Michelle. Like I didn't already have enough shit to deal with ."

She pressed her lips together, her eyes closing .

"But hey...I guess that's nothing you need to worry about. As long as you're getting your stupid stories. Have a nice life, MizNestor ."

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