Page 13 of Ace of Spades
“Wow, that’s so impressive. Not quite as impressive as a three-peat, though. Funny, I don’t see him here tonight?” I feign a look around us.
“He wanted to give his horses a rest,” she says through clenched teeth, her composure slipping. I must have hit a nerve with that one.
“Damn, and he couldn’t even come to support you? I didn’t exactly see him cheering you on last weekend, either. When are you just going to admit that he’s as shitty of a boyfriend as he is a person? Sorry—not boyfriend, right?”
Hailey’s mouth opens and closes but nothing comes out. I offer myself a mental pat on the back for winning this one, but for some reason, it doesn’t feel as good as it should.
“You’re a dick,” she finally spits out, storming out to the backyard.
Well, shit.
Ava offers me a proper glare before following behind her friend, leaving me with my friends.
Okay, so I hadn’t meant to cross the line, but in my defense, Brad truly was an awful person. And besides, I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times I had watched him cheat on her. Not that they were official, from my understanding, after the encounter at the bar last weekend, but he slept with an awful lot of girls for someone who thought he had the right to claim a stake on Hailey.
I might be a dick at times. And I suppose I can be a bit arrogant—I mean, I’m a bronc rider, after all—but I still don’tbelieve in cheating. Brad has always seemed so slimy to me. And at the end of the day, his family is just as involved in everything going on in Cedar Creek considering his dad’s business partnership with the Sorrels.
“So,” Chance starts, handing me another beer. “Wanna tell us what that was all about?”
“She just… I know I was an ass, okay? But come on, it’s Hailey Sorrels.”
“I see. So, you know that thing that people say—He’s mean to you because he has a crush on you? Yeah, that doesn’t work in real life, bud.”
I roll my eyes at my friend, leaning back against the counter.
“It’s most definitely not like that. She’s not my type,” I tell him.
“Tell me, what exactly is it about her that isn’t your type? You aren’t into smoking hot barrel racers that have a bit of a temper? Because I hate to break it to you, but that is exactly your type.”
“She ropes, too,” Rafe joins in.
“She’s not my type because I’m not into brats with an attitude problem,” I grind out.
“I hate to tell you this, but I think you’re the only one she actually has an attitude towards,” Chance tells me.
“He’s not wrong, she’s been nothing but nice to me,” Rafe adds.
My annoyance grows by the second.
“She’s not my type because she’s a Sorrels. I know she isn’t her dad, and I know that I can’t blame her for any of it, but Ican blame her for standing by his side and defending his decisions.”
“For all we know, she might have no idea what he’s doing,” Chelsea argues. “Is it really fair for us to assume?”
“I’d rather assume the worst rather than get burned down the line,” I tell them, not sure anymore if I was trying to convince my friends or myself. “As shitty as that sounds—and trust me, I know it does—I would rather keep my distance than get close to her only to find out that she’s been in on it with him the entire time.”
“He’s not wrong,” Rafe finally admits.
I nod my head, pulling a lighter and a cigarette out of my hoodie pocket.
“Sorry, man. Guess you’ll have to find someone else to get your dick wet,” Chance tells me, clapping me on the shoulder as I roll my eyes.
“Gross,” Chelsea mutters, and Beau breathes out a laugh.
“Right,” Rafe states, clapping his hands. “So we’re all in agreement, then? For now, we stay away from Hailey or anything that has to do with the Sorrels.”
I nod my head.
But why did I have the feeling that it would be easier said than done?
