Page 56 of Pretty Broken Things

“You’re an asshole, McKinnick.”

He chuckles. “So you and Tracy keep telling me.”

ChapterTwenty-Five

Ford

“I call having Tedas my partner next game,” I call out to the group.

“Fuck you, Shaw,” Rick slurs. He’s not one of our core group, more like a clinger who hangs around us at parties and here at Carlo’s bar.

Of course he wants Ted to be his partner. Ted is always sober, and always laser focused on everything he does. When the dude starts gaming, he misses meals, sleep, but never classes. He’s cool, but a nerd to the core.

“Nah, man. My dance card is full for the night,” I reply, and wink down at Jen. Her face heats and turns a nice rosy pink. She playfully swats at me. Any time I imply we’re going to spend our evening horizontally she turns bright crimson.

I turn my attention back to Rick. “You’ve got Mikey. He’ll be your partner.”

We’re all joking back and forth, and I feel lighter. I’ve been trudging through each day, mostly feeling sorry for myself, then it’s like a switch inside me flips and I feel good. Jen deserves a lot of credit for this.

Shane is right, I don’t feel the same way about her that I did about Tessa, but I think that’s a good thing. Tess and I were toxic together. Our highs felt like soaring, and the lows felt like falling forever. I don’t know why I’d ever want to feel like that again.

My relationship with Jen is the opposite. She’s the calm where Tess was the storm. Being with Jen is peaceful, predictable, and steady. There’s a small part of me, deep down, that misses the chaos Tessa brought to my life, or maybe a better word is passion. That kind of heat can burn you alive. Right now I’d much rather have the cool comfort of Jen.

Shane is laughing and talking shit just like the rest of us. He seems like his old self again. It doesn’t take a mind reader to see that he’s got a thing for Jen. Neither of us have spoken the words to get it out in the open. It’s caused a separation to grow between us. I keep hoping he’ll snap out of it and start seeing someone else, but he’s unusually fixated on her.

Except today the tension between us has retreated. I don’t know what brought about this change, but I’m glad to have this version of him back. It gives me hope that we can bridge this rift growing between us.

The bell over the door jingles. Carlo’s bar isn’t the busiest of places. There’s a few regulars that seem to always be here, and us. Since everyone is here, I turn to see who managed to stumble into a place with no sign, bars on the windows, and a parking lot that is more holes than asphalt. Then she walks in and everything in my life is turned upside down.

The bright, California sunlight makes it hard to see more than her silhouette, but I’ve got plenty of experience seeing her in the dark. My smile falls. I’ve thought about this moment many times over the last ten months, but lately I’ve gotten used to the idea she would never come back. I’ve almost convinced myself that’s what I wanted. Almost.

For a second I entertain the idea she came here seeking me out. Then it occurs to me she’d have no way of knowing I was here. My attention shifts to Shane, and suddenly his good mood makes sense.

He quickly moves toward them, probably afraid Tessa will turn back around and run away again. Valid fear, she’s good at running away.

“Hey, ladies, it’s been a long time. Come over and join us,” he greets them, and I clench my teeth. The motherfucker orchestrated this.

I look down at Jen and I don’t have to think too hard about why he brought Tessa back now. I don’t know what their plan is, but I can’t let whatever it is come between Jen and I.

With Jen still tucked against my side, I bend down to whisper in her ear, “I don’t know if I can wait for another game before I get you alone. I’d much rather play with you.”

She turns that lovely shade of red, and if it weren’t for my ex standing in the doorway I might try and talk her into joining me in the bathroom. Not that Jen would ever do something like that. She’s by far the most inhibited girl I’ve ever dated. Oddly it’s kind of a turn on, because I do love a challenge.

Just thinking that makes me glance back at the door. No one has ever challenged me more than the bitchy rich girl who stole my heart. Our eyes catch for a second, then she says something to Shane and walks out the door. My heart lurches as I watch him follow her out the door and I almost take a step toward them. I don’t think about the fact my girlfriend is standing next to me, only that Shane is alone withher.

Is this his plan to come between Jen and I? Is Tessa here to win me back? These are the things I should be asking myself, but instead I am worrying that she didn’t come here for me, but for Shane. He is the only one who seemed aware she was coming, and he has been in an unusually good mood today.

I start to gently untangle myself from Jen to go and confront him, but Tracy steps in front of me.

“Hold your horses there, big guy. You haven’t introduced me to your girlfriend yet,” she says.

I could argue with her, or step around her, but God only knows what she’ll say to Jen in my absence.

“Tracy, meet my girlfriend Jen,” I say through clenched teeth.

There’s a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that I always loved—when it was directed at others. Right now, not so much. “Nice to meet you,Jen,” she says, putting an emphasis on the n.

“Trace,” I use her name like a warning. Knowing her, my presence might not keep her from saying anything at all.

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