Page 113 of Frosting and Flames

“Serious times call for serious measures. You were fine when you left the cookoff yesterday, so something must have happened during your night with Nick. Spill it.”

For some reason, it’s Jae’s matter-of-fact statement that does me in, my vision blurring as I blink hard, trying to stop the tears. It’s a losing battle, though, as they track down my cheeks, gathering at my chin.

“Hey, hey.” Jae gives me a one-armed hug, holding the sticky bun away from me, but it doesn’t comfort me quite the same as her normal hugs. “Did it go badly? It was your first time together, right?”

I’d told her our plans for last night and how excited I was. God, that seems so long ago now.

I make an unintelligible noise in response, unable to come up with anything.

“Is he bad in bed?” she asks, then lowers her voice. “Does he have a micropenis?”

Her question jars me enough that I stop crying. “You think that’s why I’m upset?”

“I’d cry if my boyfriend had a micropenis,” Sydney says with a smirk.

I pull away from Jae, running my hands through my hair. “Oh my God, he does not have a micropenis.” I wince as soon asI shout it, praying there are no customers on the other side of the doors that heard me.

Jae’s smirking now, too. “Got you to stop crying.”

Ugh, I hate her and her effective techniques.

I take a deep breath, scrubbing the tears away with the back of my hand. I just have to say it and get it over with. “I found a pair of women’s underwear in Nick’s bed.”

There’s stunned silence and then Jae, always quick to react, leans forward. “What?”

Smoothing out my apron, I repeat, “Women’s underwear. Lingerie. Lacy. Red. And not mine.”

Sydney’s brows lift. “You think Nick…”

“I don’t know what to think.” I hate how pathetic I sound. “I asked him about it and he didn’t have an explanation. Said he was as confused as me.”

Jae lets out a sharp breath, her gaze darkening. “You think he cheated on you?”

I wince, hating how blunt it sounds. “I don’t want to. But what else am I supposed to believe? Why would it be in his bed, otherwise?”

Sydney’s gaze is soft and filled with pity. That’s a sure sign things are bad if she’s given up sarcasm. “You said he was confused. Is there a chance that’s the truth? That he actually doesn’t know how they got there, either?”

I rub my forehead, the beginnings of my headache from earlier stirring. “Maybe? I don’t know. I just feel…” I huff a little laugh, though there’s no humor in it. “Humiliated. Angry. Stupid. I let myself believe I could trust a guy again and look what happened.”

Jae sets down her cinnamon roll, still uneaten. I can practically see her brain whirring, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “This doesn’t sound like Nick. He’s not shady. And I swear he’s head over heels for you.”

I swallow hard. “He… he told me he loved me last night.”

Jae and Sydney both suck in a breath.

“Before or after you found the underwear?” Jae asks.

“After.”

The memory of Nick’s raw voice, unsteady and desperate, echoes in my mind. I’ve dreamed of him telling me he loves me… but not like that. Not when I can’t trust anything.

The timing had been all wrong, and the cynical part of me is afraid it was merely damage control. As if he could throw the words at a wound, hoping it would stitch it shut.

But what if he had meant it? What if I had walked away from something real because I was too scared to believe in it? To believe him?

Jae shakes her head. “This makes no sense. Even if he was going to sleep with someone else—and not saying he did,” she makes sure to add. “But wouldn’t he get rid of the evidence? And red lacy panties are pretty big freaking evidence. Like, who leaves lingerie lying around? Especially somewhere so obvious.” Her gaze turns speculative. “Something doesn’t add up.”

Sydney looks between me and Jae. “I don’t think he cheated on you, Rachel. Nick’s a stand-up guy.”

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