Page 100 of Date with a Devil
“Actually, Texas is a one-party consent state, meaning as long asIconsent, I can record this call without telling you. So, you’re wrong.” She paused. “But aren’t you the guy who doesn’t believe in privacy in the first place? That nothing is ever off the record?”
Catching him in that bit of hypocrisy fanned the flames of his temper. “What you’re doing isillegal,moron.”
“Nope. It’s not. But you know whatisillegal? Blackmail,” she said. “Which is why I’m pretty confident you won’t be posting those photos of me and my boyfriend. This call proves that you were trying to blackmail me with them.”
“Your—wait,what?”
“Yep—boyfriend! I wasn’t sure about him at first, but Dane’s a really sweet guy once you get to know him a little better. Therealhim, not the one you’ve portrayed with your stupid interview hit piece. It’s funny, Thayer. You really drove me and Dane together with your controlling, obsessive nature. Weird how life works sometimes, isn’t it?”
“Slut,” he snarled, sounding like he was possessed by a demon. “Cunt!”
“Mm.” She rolled her eyes. “Yep. Let it allllll out, Thayer. I know you’ve been hiding all your infantile rage towards women under this phony veneer of respect and awe. Must be nice to finally show the world your true self, hm?”
“You’ll regret this,” he said.
“No, I don’t think I will. By the way?”
“What?” he snapped.
“I’m posting a story right now, as we speak. You’ll probably want to read it. I’ll email you the link.”
“Don’t youdare.I can still release these photos …!”
“Hey, if you want, go ahead. After you read the story, trust me, you’ll realize that would be arealbad look for you.”
“Damn you,” he said, and hung up.
***
Dane was still in the shower when Austen finished writing her story. She posted it on Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, on hockey forums, and anywhere else she could think of. Maybe Thayer was right—maybe itwouldget taken down—but all she had to do was reach enough people, and word would begin to spread.
She emailed Thayer a link, too. He did not reply.
Dane finally emerged with a towel snugly wrapped around his waist. After soaking in a long, hot shower, his skin was flushed and his muscles swollen.
“Finally! You’re back,” Austen said. She ran and jumped into his arms and kissed him. His lips were steamier and softer than ever.
“How’s the story?” he asked.
“It’s done!” she said, with a wild spark in her eye. “I posted it everywhere I could. It’s spreading. People can’t believe it. I talked to Thayer before I posted it, too.”
“What did he have to say?”
“Ooooh, not much,” she said. “But why don’t you listen for yourself?”
She skipped over to her laptop and played the audio from the phone call. Dane’s face twisted with anger when he heard how he spoke to her.
“That motherfucker!” he said when the call was over. “He thinks he can talk to you like that?Unreal.I’m gonna fuckin’ kick his ass.”
Still wearing a bath towel, Dane paced back and forth through the studio. He plotted aloud, wondering when and where he could get Thayer alone so he could show him how real men handle their problems. His body was tense, his muscles straining.
She tried to calm him down.
“Please don’t beat him up, Dane,” she said. “If you hurt him, he won’t think of it as a lesson learned or whatever you’re hoping—he’ll run to the cops. You’ll get in trouble, probably go to jail for assault, and then this will follow you around for the rest of your career. And believe me, Dallaswilltrade you if you do something like that. It’s just not worth it.”
“He called you acunt!” His nostrils flared and blew out angry gusts of air. “I won’t let anyone talk to you that way. Guys can’ttalk to women like that, period.”
Austen clung on to his forearm and dragged him to the bed, where she made him sit. “Believe me, I agree.” She couldn’t believe how Dane and Thayer had turned out in the end—they were the total opposites of what she’d thought.
