Page 4 of Dodge

Chase’s face turned scarlet red, like an overripe tomato. “You goddamn bitch, get the fuck out! You’re fired. Get your shit outta my house by Monday or else I’m burning it all.”

“You don’t need to fire me, asshole. I quit. I’m done with you, your shitty-ass food, and your fucking cocky attitude. Everyone knows I’m the better chef.”

“You okay, sweetness?”

Dodge’s words cut through the memory and brought me to the present where I stood.

I shook off my reverie and handed him his helmet. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine, baby. You look like you want to run or hurl.”

I laughed despite my churning gut and aching head. “I’m good, Dodge. Thanks for all you did last night… um… I mean, keeping me from doing something worse. Not… ah…”Well, really, that too.

He grinned, and my breath caught.Damn, he is a fine-looking man!

“No problem with any of it, sweetness. You have your keys to get in?”

“The door has a keypad.”

He grunted and shifted on the bike. “I’m not cool ’bout leavin’ you here by yourself. You sure you’re okay?”

Handsome, built like a brick shithouse, and super nice.Oh God, why didn’t I meet this man before Chase?

I put on my game face. “Truly, I’m fine. You go do your thing. I’m gonna do mine.”

“Fauna.”

He stared into my face in silence for a minute. I could tell from his expression that he truly didn’t like the idea of riding away. His attention and his obvious need to protect flattered me. But I was still a grown-ass woman, and the demons I had to face belonged to me and me alone. “Dodge, I’m good. I promise.”

“I’m leaving this afternoon to go back home. All my business cards are at the car show. You want my number in case you need help or somethin’? I can write it down.”

Fuck me, he was so fine and seemed to be such a good man, but I’d already made some terrible choices and didn’t need anymore.I shook my head. “The last forty-eight hours have been rather rough. I have a lot to think about and some decisions to make. Let’s just consider this to be a fond memory of the one who got away, yeah?”

His lips pressed together. “If that’s what you want, sweetness. Have a nice life, and good luck with everything.”

He raised his helmet to put it on, and I stopped him. “Dodge? Thank you for saving my ass and being such a great guy. That means more to me than I can ever say.”

I leaned in and placed my mouth on his, intending on a simple goodbye kiss. He slid a gloved hand behind my head and sweetly took over. His tongue teased against my lips, and I didn’t resist opening for him. Some women described kissing as lightning strikes, sparks, zings, and other flashes. Dodge’s kiss was none of these. His was a long, slow broil that started in my stomach and spread through my body. I bet he made love the same way. Too bad this was all I’d ever get. Even the memory of his mouth between my legs held a promise I couldn’t keep.

The kiss ended, and I backed away, covering my shakiness with a smile and a flippant wave. “Take care and be safe.”

He stayed silent while he put on his helmet. Nope, he still didn’t want to go. I bet he would stay in a heartbeat with only one word from me. I kept quiet.

He pulled away from the curb, and with a flick of his fingers, he drove off. The sound from his motorcycle faded, and I moved to punch in the condo’s code. My squishy middle held all the feels ever made. Sadness. Regret. Hope. Desire. All of them blended into one big confusing ball. Bleh, I needed to get my head on straight. I had work to do and a life to get on track.

I expected the condo to be empty when I entered, but an unmistakable noise greeted me. Three large garbage bags sat by the front door with all my clothes spilling out from the top. Chase was home after all and had been busy.

Hmph. I thought he said I had until Monday. Fucker must have changed his mind. Asshole.

My turbo charger sat in the small kitchen, and I climbed the steps to get there and plug in my phone. The condo had this weird modern design where each room stacked up in a column: utility and foyer on the bottom, kitchen and living areas next, then the main bedroom, and a final small extra area on top that opened to the roof. A tight spiral staircase joined them, and I never liked the sense of being closed in. I guess now I didn’t have to deal with it.

While I was in the kitchen, I pulled out my spare set of keys, packed my spare knives and a few other personal cooking implements, and added them to the pile at the door. It took me about ten minutes tops to get the bags and other stuff loaded in my car. I’d go through the haphazard pile later, but there was one item I’d noticed was missing, and there was no way I was leaving without it.

The noise was still going strong upstairs, and I straightened my shoulders to brave it out. My leaden feet made the trip up to the next level. I turned the corner and got a full view of the loud source. Chase’s pale behind was pumping frantically into one of the servers. She was young, strawberry blonde, pretty, and had been flirting with Chase for months. I suspected this was not the first time they were together based on their behavior at work.

She lay under him and put on a real show. Her head thrashed from side to side, and she moaned, cried out, whimpered, and gasped better than any porn star on film. Me? I was surprisingly unhurt. I just didn’t care. Maybe I never really did. I had no moral leg to stand on anyway, as just hours after Chase and I broke up, I was in a bed with a total stranger.

Neither of them noticed as I crept to the dresser and pulled down the antique jewelry box my grandmother gave me before she died. I opened the top and saw it was still full. Chase had probably overlooked it in his haste to get me out. I moved close enough to see the girl suddenly bow up and scream. She scrunched up her face, whipped her head harder, clawing at Chase’s arms.

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