Page 80 of Never You

“Yeah, what's that?”

“I love you, Rae. Take me back, Rae. I’m sorry, Rae. You know you’re the one, Rae. I will never get better than you, Rae.A lot of pleading, basically.”

I haven’t picked up Sean’s calls since we left LA, mostly because the man in front of me has kept me occupied every single minute. But also because it doesn’t matter. I don’t want Sean. I don’t pine after men, and certainly not the ones that cheat on me.

“Do you want him back?” His deep voice cuts through me, now completely pissing me off. I can hear the judgment in his voice, combined with a disappointment that shoots right through my heart.

“Do you think I’d be fucking with you if I wanted him back?” I sneer, offended.

Fuck this.

I’ve been nothing but honest with him from the moment he dropped his infuriating ass in my car. He has no right to look at me like I did something wrong.

Quickly, I slide away from him, crossing my arms.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but I don’t care. The suggestion pisses me off. I know I don’t owe him shit; he and I are nothing but a few blurred lines that will be straightened the second we drive into Jacksonville. But I am insulted that he would think I’d use him like some kind of rebound before running back to Sean Kent.

He might not know me very well, but I’m pretty sure he knows me a little better thanthat. Especially when I’m the one who’sbeen scolding him for five years about the photos on TMZ with any girl who wasn’t his girlfriend.

I’m not like that shit.

I don’t do that shit.

If he hadn’t been perfectly clear that he and Emily are broken up right now, I would’ve never let him get as close as he did last night. Let alone sleep with him if I was still interested in my ex-boyfriend.

And I’m disappointed he’d even feel the urge to ask. I assumed he thought more of me.

He shakes his head, pulling me back against his body in one swift move.

“Oh, no you don’t. Don’t you dare fight me because I asked you a fucking valid question.” He fists my hair, so he can tug my head back to look into my eyes.

I can feel his warmth enveloping me, covering me in a blanket that instantly simmers my irritation down, but not completely.

“I know you’re not some bimbo begging for his attention. But you also didn’t out him in the tabloids. You haven’t outed him with the team. I know what he did. You know what he did. Yet you haven’t said a word to anyone. It’s not hard for me to wonder if that's because whenthisis all over,” his finger flicks between our chests, “you want to give it another shot. Givehimanother shot.”

“You know what he did?” I frown.

“Come on, baby.” His thumb rests in the corner of my mouth. “He’s my teammate. It’s no secret he fucks around every chance he gets.”

Oh, my God.

The embarrassment washes over me, and I turn my head out of his grasp. I tried to keep it a secret, at least for the outside world. He’s one of the star players of the LA Knights. I was already getting hate for dating him, let alone if I started callingone of their favorite players a cheater. I told Johnny because he’s my uncle, but other than that, I kept my mouth shut. Told everyone the spark died down between us and we grew apart, when in reality he killed it the minute he stuck his dick into someone else.

“Hey,” Jensen says, grabbing my chin to force me to look at him again. “It’s not your fault. We all know he’s a player.”

“You all know? The entire team knows, and no one cared to tell me?Youdidn’t care to tell me?”

He grinds his teeth, a little stunned. “It’s not like we were exactly on speaking terms, were we? You bite my head off every chance you get.”

“And this proves exactly why,” I growl, pushing him off me and climbing out of the booth.

“Rae.”

“Fuck you, Jensen.”

Ignoring him, I stomp off, ignoring the curious gazes of the people I pass by on my way out.

“Rae, goddammit.” He mutters behind me.

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