Page 11 of Dump and Chase

She wasn’t happy. She was fucking furious.

“Tang, I’m sorry you got the wrong idea.” Part of me wanted to set things right with Tangi, let Brandi go, but I was in too deep now.

“Don’t be sorry to me. You should be sorry to your girlfriend.”

No beating around the bush. I was a shit. I’d cheated on Brandi, but I’d pay for that later. “I suppose I am. And I’m sorry for doing that to you. I do love Brandi.”

“You love her so much that you had sex with me? Screw you, Ethan.”

I deserved it all. “There is something else you should know. I don’t want you to find out from someone else.”

And that’s when I saw the panic on her face. I shouldn’t have slept with her and given her hope. I should have just left her alone.

“Tang, Brandi and I are engaged.”

ChapterSix

Tangi

The words thundered in my head. The most commitment-phobic man on the planet was engaged to someone he’d been dating a year? A fucking year! How long had I waited? How many times had I told him I wanted more than just being the person he lived in. I wanted to have a life with him, and after almost seven years, I got the shaft, whileBrandisecured the ever-illusive commitment in less than a year?

I was enraged! I slammed my wineglass down so hard I thought it was going to shatter. I wanted to throw the bottle of Riesling at him. “Are you serious right now?”

The look of horror on his face gave me no satisfaction. Suddenly, the first and only guy I’d ever loved was worse than any man I could ever possibly date. My high school sweetheart, the person I’d put my career on hold for, the one I’d stood by, who was as close to my family as a son, had met a basic bitch, dated her a year, and popped the question?

He put his hands up to placate me. Such a prick. “I know you’re upset,” he said.

I vibrated with rage. “Fuck you!”

He took a second to let the tension ease, but I wasn’t done with him. Since this was definitely goodbye forever, there were things I needed to get off my chest, and he was going to listen. Except he spoke first.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m a different person now. I’m more mature, I see things in a new way. I met Brandi and we connected.”

“You connected to her so well, that you didn’t have a problem connecting your dick to my pussy.”

I was never a wallflower, but I’d always taken a step back to let him shine in his hockey career. I’d often told myself that once his career was over, I’d have time to finish school, pursue a career, and maybe along the way we’d have a family. I’d held my tongue more than a few times when I would have loved to tell some of his teammates and their partners what I thought, but no more. He was getting the entire Tangi Kildare experience.

“You’re right to be pissed. We shouldn’t have done that,” he said as calmly as possible.

“You say that now. How convenient. Did you fuck around on me too? It’s okay to be honest. We aren’t together, and you’re engaged to someone else, so who cares. Did you?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, likely wishing he could be anywhere else. “No. I was never unfaithful to you.”

“How noble of you. So you only cheat on yourfiancée. And here I thought you were one of the good guys. But you’re just like all your teammates.”

“Tang, we aren’t getting anywhere here. Let’s talk when you’ve cooled off. You can be pissed at me then too, but you’re freaking out right now.”

I laughed sarcastically. “Am I not allowed to freak out? Does that make you uncomfortable?” I said as sweetly as possible. “Because here’s the thing: once I walk out of here, we’re never going to talk again. I’m done with you. I don’t care what you do with your life or who you marry. Shit, Leah had you pegged right after all. Here I thought she was being unreasonable by shutting you out. Turns out I should have listened to here and stayed home today, but I respected your dad too much. By the way, go fuck yourself.”

I pushed past him into the bedroom to change. As I was getting my shoes on, he got close to the door but didn’t block it.

“I’m sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to do that. It’s why I’ve stayed away. You’ll always have a place in my heart. I know I screwed up, but I hope you can forgive me. I hate that you’re leaving here so angry.”

He sounded sincere, but I didn’t trust anything about him anymore. “Make sure to leave my family off the wedding invitation list. I can assure you that none of us will be attending.”

I got out of there as fast as possible, before he could see any cracks in my demeanor. As it all began to sink in, my heart was beginning to break. Through blurred vision, I called an Uber that was thankfully only minutes away. I pulled myself together long enough to make it home. Dad was watching TV in the living room and barely looked up. Mom was already in bed, and Leah wasn’t home from work. I headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower. I could still smell Ethan’s cologne on me, and I wanted it gone. Maybe I’d burn the dress.

By the time I crawled into bed, Leah was home from work. It was a weeknight and Newman’s closed a little earlier. A light knock on my door startled me, but I told her to come in.

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