Page 47 of Skin Deep

It pissed me the fuck off. It reminded me of when we first met, and who she truly was. The woman who had orchestrated an arrangement to test another woman’s feelings, and in return, really wanted to just fuck me.Fun.I bet she had a lot of it over the years.

“Tell me about them,” I said, matching her tone. “Were they all…fun?”

“Ahh, yes,” she said. “Immeasurable fun—in length and width.”

“All monsters then.”

“You should know something about that,” she said.

I lifted my glass. “Glad I fit in.”

Why were we provoking each other like this? I had no idea why I even fucking cared that she’d been with a few monsters. Or anyone, for that matter. I had no clue what was going on between me and this woman.

On the surface, it was what it was. Deeper than that? I needed more sense than I possessed to figure it out. All I could come up with was that she was out to wreck me, on purpose or not.

One minute, I was experiencing freedom on a level I never had. The next, an immovable tension settled between us because she said something, or I did, that set one of us off. And the closer to the party we came, the more we seemed to be arguing. I’d never bickered with a woman so much in my life, except for my sister. But she could make a priest curse.

“Have you ever had a serious relationship?” I said, my tone altogether serious.

“Have you?”

“Okay. I’ll play this game. Yeah. I have.”

“With the girl in your head?”

I laughed to keep from growling at her. “In high school.”

My unexpected answer seemed to take her by surprise. “Ah—what happened?”

“She fell in love with a teammate of mine, a guy who went on to play pro for a while. Last I heard, they had three kids, and they’re living happily ever after on Long Island.”

“After your injury.” It wasn’t a question, and her eyes softened some. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

I thought I heard her say “everything,” but I got up from the table as she whispered the word. She put a hand on my arm to stop me.

“Will you come back?”

“Yeah. Bathroom.”

Not only did I have to take a piss, but I needed to compose myself. Gigi had pressed a button few people knew where to find. My brothers gave me shit about my ex messing me up, but I didn’t need her trying to connect the dots and figure me out.

My ex was part of my baseball dream. The life we would’ve had together died when that one did. It didn’t matter what she looked like, or that she was only skin deep. It was over. There was no connection. It had been severed.

My feet stalled on the way back to the table. Gigi was looking up at a man from her seat. The restaurant was dim, and his features were a bit hazy from where I stood, but I could tell by the unease in her shoulders that maybe she didn’t want to talk to him.

He went to take her arm, but she yanked out his grasp.

“Problem here?” I said, standing in front of her.

“Who is this?” He tilted his head to the side so he could see her again.

Gigi stood, putting her hand on my arm. “No problem,” she said. “Miles was just leaving.”

“Actually,” he said, fixing his suit, looking me in the eye, “I just arrived.”

“We are leaving then.” Gigi started to walk around me, but I stopped her.

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