Page 14 of Dump and Chase

“Your dick in her pussy just happened? Damn, I wish that happened to me.”

“You know what I mean.”

He shook his head, and his expression held all his disappointment. “You shouldn’t have done that. I’m guessing she still doesn’t know about Brandi.”

“I told her. She got pissed. Told me to screw off.”

Craig’s face contorted as if he’d chomped into the sourest lemon. “You didn’t. Are you serious?”

“She had to know. It was going to come out anyway.”

“If I had my wings right now, I’d throw some at you. What were you thinking? Tangi has been nothing but good to you, and not only do you sleep with her, but then you crush her? She deserved better than that.”

Craig was the first guy to break up with a girl for a stupid reason, but for some reason, he’d always had a soft spot for Tangi. Maybe he had a crush on her, but he would have never pursued it while I was dating her. But then again, everyone loved Tangi. She was fun, honest, smart, athletic, and the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. And I’d been an ass to her.

“I know. I feel like crap.”

“You didn’t ask for it, but I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Leave her alone. Leave her sister alone. Leave it all alone. Go get married, stay out west, or wherever you plan on living after hockey, and let her do the same. The way I see it, you guys are definitely done.”

We stuffed ourselves with wings, watched a baseball game, caught up on the last few months, then it was time to go home. I dreaded that part. I hated being alone. My first year of junior hockey was the shittiest time for me. I was staying with a strange family, I had no friends other than my new teammates, and Tangi was miles away. When I’d finally made the Kodiaks full-time, Tangi had put her life on hold and moved out to Vancouver with me. She’d taken some college and university courses here and there, but she’d put it all aside for me. So I wouldn’t be alone. I was an asshole.

As I entered my empty condo, my phone trilled. It was Brandi’s distinctive ring. For the first time since we’d started dating, I wasn’t looking forward to her call.

“Hey! How are you?” I said as cheerfully as I could muster.

“I’m good. Doing a lot of work. Days are long, but it’s rewarding. But more importantly, how are you doing?”

I gave her a recap of the funeral, how Mom and Ava were doing, Dad’s mountain of papers and my night out with Craig. No mention of Tangi, of course. She listened and apologized for the hundredth time that she hadn’t been there.

“Your work was important. I don’t ever want you to feel bad,” I said. “If you’d come for the funeral, you would have missed out on that opportunity.”

“I wanted to be there for you.”

“It’s fine. I had my mom, my sister, and loads of family. I was all right.”

She cleared her throat, and I knew what she was going to ask before she said. “Did you see your ex?”

“Yeah. We talked. We’re good. She’s moved on with her life, and so have I. You’re in my life now. She’s in the past.”

“I love you,” she said.

My heart hurt a little. I’d been so shitty to her as well. “I love you too.”

How would I ever make this up to her?

ChapterEight

Tangi

The next few weeks I managed to keep a low profile. I avoided anyone who would ask me about what Ethan and I had done when we’d disappeared from his father’s wake. The only two people I’d told were my besties, Wolseley and Jill. In usual fashion, Jill had given me a long lecture about respecting myself and reminded me that I should have known he was a jerk. Wolseley was easygoing about it, her usual free-spirited self.

“If you enjoyed yourself, think of it as a last hurrah,” she’d said.

That hadn’t gone over well with Jill and the two had gotten into a long debate about it, one I’d avoided joining.

“Where are you going tonight?” Leah asked as I put on an ivory dress embroidered with sequins that fell just above my knees. It was fitted, with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline, and it screamed sexy while also being elegant. As long as the girls were covered, I was fine. I’d worn this dress to one of the many charity galas I’d attended with Ethan. At one point, I’d had a whole closet full of dresses like this, but when I’d come home, I’d sold most of them off. They paid for some of my tuition.

“Richardson’s is having a fundraiser tonight and Wolseley is doing the catering.”

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