Page 18 of Drunk on You (Hope Town 4)

"Wanted to take my girl out."

I look around the almost empty parking lot, a trickle of unease making me fist my keys. "Unless you're waiting for someone else, I don't see your girl."

"Oh, come on, Nik! Stop playing hard to get. I fucked up; I know. I've said I was sorry, baby. Let's just put it behind us and move on."

"Sorry doesn't cut it. I don't know why you have such a hard time realizing that I'm not joking. You didn't just cheat on me, but you had been doing it for years, Seth. That isn't anything I would ever be able to forget. You made your choice, just as I did when I ended our relationship. I won't change my mind, buddy!"

His face goes hard, the carefree boy next door mask slipping off completely. "So you're just going to throw away years together because of my mistake?"

"Ding, ding! We've got a winner, ladies and gents. I'm so glad you're finally listening," I sarcastically exclaim.

"You don't have to be a fucking bitch," he forces through his clenched teeth.

"And you don't have to be a freaking stalker. It's over. It's been over. Give it up and move on."

"It's not over, Nik. If it was over, you wouldn't still be waiting for me."

I laugh, feeling a headache forming. "You think I'm waiting for you? That's rich, Seth, it really is. I'm not waiting on you. I wasn't the day I walked in on another girl--one who looked like she wasn't even close to eighteen, I might add--bouncing on your naked lap. I wasn't waiting the day I moved all your crap out of my apartment. And you'd better believe I wasn't waiting when my new man showed me just what I had been missing with you!"

Verbal diarrhea. I couldn't stop it if I tried, and now, with him giving me the nastiest glare ever, I can still feel more bubbling up, threatening to tip over and out.

"You're lying."

"Have I ever lied to you?" I ask. I might not have been the best girlfriend to Seth, but he never had to doubt my word because I had never lied to him before. So this is a massive stretch to say I'm not lying now, but Shane did kind of agree to a 'relationship'--even if it's been radio silence since--Seth just doesn't need to know about all the fine print.

"How come you aren't ever with this man of yours?"

"He's busy." I've been avoiding him.

"Nik Nac, baby, you don't need to lie to make me feel bad. I messed up. I know. Stop this and let's go have some fun." He reaches out, but I jerk my body away from his reach. "The fuck?"

"Seth ... I've been nice about it. I've told you over and over that it will never happen. It's been over a year! Enough already. Respect that I've moved on and do the same."

"You say you've moved on, yet here you are, lying about it just because you want to play games and make me pay for my mistakes. We both know we'll get back together. Just cut the act."

"That will never happen. Look, I've had a long day, and I just want to go home. How about you pick your stalking back up tomorrow when I've had a full night's sleep and I'm better equipped to deal with your crazy."

I push past him, ignoring the nasty things he's muttering about me, and squeeze into my car with the little space he's allowed between himself and my door. I don't look out my window, but I do lock the door before fumbling with my keys. I jump only slightly when Seth bangs his hand against my wi

ndow, but I keep my eyes forward and put the car in drive, thankful no one is in the parking lot to witness my ex spewing profanities.

The only thing I'm able to process on the drive home is that Seth must be dealt with. Clearly, he really isn't going to just leave me alone. Why, I have no idea, but months of this after almost a full year of having him out of my life is torture. Torture that I'm over. Not only that, but if he continues to show up at my school, acting like he did today, he's going to get me fired. It was one thing when he was just being an annoying texter and caller, but now, he's taking it too far. And quite frankly, it's getting a little scary. What's he going to do next? Show up during school hours and cause a scene? He knows just how much I love being a teacher, but he also knows that my position at Rosefield Prep came with a steep morality clause. Having an ex-lover's spat in public, in the school parking lot, well ... you can guarantee I'll be packing my office up if that happens and someone witnesses it. I wouldn't put it past him to do it just to hurt me either.

Joke or not, it looks like I need to talk to Shane. At this point, he's my only hope in scraping off Seth before he does something that changes my whole life. At least with him, the chemistry between us doesn't have to be as fake as the relationship. No, that's something we definitely don't lack.

"Call him," I mutter to myself, pacing the small area between my coffee table and television. "Just pick up the phone and call him," I continue, thumping the remote against my forehead.

Since I got home a few hours ago, I've called Landon's mom about her tip-loving son and husband, took a long bath, threw on some lounge clothes--the shirt I stole from Shane that night he danced for me at Dirty--and cooked myself a pathetic dinner for one. Now here I am at ten o'clock on a Friday night, watching Live PD and talking to myself between random rants at the screen to unleash the dogs. This is where my life is. At least Seth didn't follow me home; that's about the only thing that could make my night worse. I could call Ember. I should call Em. Other than her, there aren't any other options, which means she is the sole bearer of my troubles when I need to vent. I'm not proud of it, but she's probably the only real friend I have. Even with the time that's passed since my split with Seth, he successfully drove a wedge between any friendships I had because those 'friends' got sick of seeing me stay with someone who treated me like crap. Ember was the only one who refused to give up and loved me despite the man I was dating. And I think he only really let her stay in my life because, at the time, she was dating his friend. It's pretty pathetic that I haven't at least gained another friend since the breakup.

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