Page 9 of Breaking Blaze

Closing the door behind her, Anna struggled under the weight of the groceries as she made her way to the kitchen where she basically tossed them on to the counter. Barely able to snatch a breath, her phone rang. Glancing down, she saw Blaze’s face in the screenshot and his number blinking.

“That Blaze?” her other best friend, Sallina “Sally” Mendez, asked as she gently placed the triple chocolate cake and bottle of wine on the counter beside the groceries. It was their weekly girls’ night which usually consisted of junk food, chocolate, wine, and sexy man TV. This week’s male obsession was Matthew Goode and all his tall, dark, and sexy vampire hotness.

“Yeah,” Anna answered, rolling her eyes at Sally’s glare.

It had been three days since the night he’d woken her in favor of bothering the night’s hook up, and after the “make it up to you” dinner invitation she’d declined, they’d only texted a few times since then. Good morning. Baby Yoda memes. Questions about her car insurance provider. And goodnight. Their connection had taken a hit, and she couldn’t help but feel that it was her fault.

She really shouldn’t have blamed Blaze for being Blaze. She knew he was a manwhore, had known for years, so why was she suddenly so bothered by it? She’d thought that, by now, she’d be immune to the heartache that came with knowing that the man she loved had slept with nearly every woman in town…except her. Apparently, he had no problem fucking everything with tits except when it came to her. She was anathema. A human arousal killer. It didn’t take a scientist to compare her to the women he fucked. They were usually leggy, with big tits, shiny hair, gorgeous faces, and not an ounce of fat anywhere. Supermodels, real estate agents, several waitresses, and a divorced MILF. And that was just the current month!

Anna was what one called “pear-shaped”. She was average height with wide hips, a narrow waist with a soft belly, and moderately sized breasts. A little more than a handful but nowhere near as large, firm, and bouncy as the women Blaze usually took home. Her thighs touched, her breasts made sweat stains, and her ass didn’t completely fit on the surface of most restaurant chairs. So what was a little ass over hang? It didn’t mean she was unworthy of some notice, right? But Blaze looked at Anna and didn’t see a single thing attractive enough to get him hard. Even when drunk, Blaze looked right through her, and what sort of slut did that make her, that she was so desperate she was willing to fuck him while he was drunk?

The phone still ringing, Sally pouted at it.

“He better be calling to tell you what an ass he’d been and that he’s coming over to kiss your feet…on his way up to kissing your pu—”

Anna hit the green button and put it on speaker, eager to shut up her inappropriate friend.

“Hey Blaze,” she called.

The sound of voices, muffled music, and clinking glasses filled the silence.

She paused in opening the fridge.

“Blaze?” she tried again. Again he didn’t answer.

“He must have butt dialed you,” Sally remarked, moving closer to the phone.

Anna blew out a frustrated breath and reached out to turn off the phone but Sally slapped her hand away.

“Let’s wait, I want to hear what’s going on. I bet he’s on a date—if you can call what he does dating,” she said, her excited voice sounding too much like her “kill the bitch” voice.

Anna grabbed for the phone but Sally snatched it up, holding it over her head. At five foot seven, Anna wasn’t short, but beside her six-foot-tall friend, she was no competition in the jump game.

“Come on, Sally, it’s rude to eavesdrop.”

Sally snorted and rolled her eyes. “It’s also rude to wake you up before the crack of dawn to let his whoring ass in when he refuses to wake up his flavor of the night to get his own fucking keys.”

Anna’s shoulders slumped. God, she never should have told Sally about that.

“…that Katie?” a familiar voice asked.

“That’s AJ,” Sally blurted. AJ Mendez was Sally’s brother, a serious guy who was known to frequent Happy Jack’s with Blaze and a few of the other men in their construction crew.

“Yeah,” another familiar voice answered. “I’m headed off to see her in a bit. She called to ask me what to wear for tonight.”

AJ grunted, his usual remark.

“They’re hitting the bar awfully early, aren’t they?” Sally sneered, disappointment in her brother written in the grooves of her scowl.

Anna agreed. Then again, she’d swapped with Shanna last minute to get the night off, which meant Blaze thought she’d be there, and if Blaze was there pre-gaming before her clock in time of six, it meant he was probably avoiding her.

Ouch. Hurt pricked at her, drawing blood.

“You going to actually take her out?” AJ asked, his voice coming through the speaker loud and clear. Blaze must have slipped his phone into the front breast pocket of his leather bomber jacket, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to pick up so much of their conversation.

Blaze chuckled. “Nah, man. She wanted to know what sexy bit of nothing to wear when I stopped by. She’s not the dinner out type, she’s the stop by, fuck her until she screams, then leave type.”

Anna had known this about Blaze, that he had hook ups with strangers but that he also had regulars around town he’d hook up with when the mood struck. Apparently, it had.

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