Page 109 of Chasing Lyric
Carlee places her hand over her buxom chest. “This is so romantic,” she gushes.
“Isn’t it, though?” Dax chimes back in the same tone.
He’s such a fucker.
But the asshole gets the job done, so I have to give him credit for that.
“Thank you, Carlee,” I tell her.
Dax winks at her as we turn and walk to the back corner of the store. “That was way easier than I thought it would be.”
I exhale. “You know, one day, Dax… one day, you’re going to find a girl youactuallylike, and she’ll see you for the master manipulator you are.”
“Well, that’s a shitty thing to say.”
I roll my shoulders. “You have the outer shell of a god, but simply asking could get you the same results.”
His eyes narrow like he’s pondering that thought. “You don’t use your looks to get what you want?”
I shrug. “I’m cocky sometimes, sure, but not to that extent. Being with Lyri showed me what life with one woman is like, and I want that for you, Dax. I want you to settle down and be happy like I was. I want you to fight for one woman like I’m fighting for Lyri now.”
He leans against the wall, completely silent.
Well, this shit suddenly got serious.
The bell on the door dings, and I turn to see Lyric walk in. She’s oblivious to us being here as she strides up to the counter to order her morning coffee.
I can’t hear what she’s saying to Carlee, but I don’t need to. I can read it all in the tension threading through her shoulders, in the way she keeps glancing toward the door like she wants to be anywhere but here. Carlee gives her a small nod and walks off toward the espresso machine.
Dax nudges me as if this is some damn sitcom and we’re about to watch the grand gesture pay off. But my stomach’s twisting into tight knots and my hands are damp with sweat as I exhale, trying to get a grip on myself and the situation.
She trashed the last note without even blinking.
What if she does the same with this one?
What if every move I make just pushes her further away?
Carlee returns with Lyric’s coffee and a muffin. I lean forward, every muscle in my body tensing like I’m about to jump into a fight. Lyric reaches for her purse, but Carlee waves her off with a shake of her head, and then she pulls out the note.
My note.
I stop breathing.
My heart pounds against my ribs like it’s trying to punch its way out. Everything else fades, people, sounds, movement, it all gets swallowed by the static in my head and the sight of Lyric’s hand taking that folded square of paper.
Her face falls. Not dramatically, just enough to look like something inside her has cracked. She glances around the café.
Dax and I both drop low behind our menus like two idiots hiding in plain sight. I catch a glimpse of her eyes scanning the room. She doesn’t spot us, but I swear I feel the moment her chest rises with a sharp inhale, she doesn’t release.
She’s affected. That much is clear.
But is it pain? Anger? Something else?
She nods once to Carlee, almost like a thank you, then takes her order and walks off to the side. I track every movement, how her fingers tremble just slightly, how the crease between her brows deepens as she stares at the note like it’s a ticking bomb.
She opens it, and I unravel. Watching her read it is like holding my breath underwater. Her eyes mist, lips trembling into a straight, hard line like she’s forcing the emotion down. My body tenses all over, jaw locked so tight it aches.
Then she does it a-fucking-gain, crushes the note in her fist like it personally betrayed her, and hurls it into the trash with more strength than I expected. She turns, strides straight out the door, and vanishes into the parking lot without looking back.
