Page 69 of Perfect Alpha

Britt:Had SO much fun with you at Gavin’s and need a repeat soon. Miss you, baby! Here’s the picture you wanted. Busy tonight? Want to be? I need you back between my legs stat xoxo.

The eggplant, peach, and spray emojis make bile rise in my throat. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid yetagain.

When am I going to learn that Cade is a liar and a player who will never change? He probably practiced all the same lines on Britt that he just used on me.

After what we did, the intimacy of what I just let him do, I’m equally betrayed as I was on the day he dumped me. He did fuck Britt and looked right in my eyes and lied about it.

I leave the picture of my nemesis open and set the phone on the hood of Cade’s truck with a determined thud. It gives me the required gumption to stomp toward him with a grim expression. When I round the corner, I drag my suitcase out of the truck bed without a word.

“What’s up, angel? Do you need something? Let me grab it for you.”

“I’ve got it,” I snap.

Cade comes behind me and wraps me in a hug that melts my insides despite how much I should hate him.

But I don’t cave.

Instead, I pull away even though losing him – again – is the worst kind of torture. Tears burn my eyes, and I’m so sick of crying over this man.

Cade frowns and tries to reach for me again. “What’s up with my girl?”

“I’mnotyour girl.” I keep my expression as indifferent as I can, but it doesn’t help that he isn’t even trying to shield the panicked hurt from his expression. I remind myself it’s just an act and that he can – and does – have any girl he wants.

“You had me. And you walked away. Maybe if you were a better man, we’d still be together and in love. But it’s done now.We’redone.”

“I don’t understand,” Cade replies, as Hannah pulls up with a big grin on her face. Oh, how quickly things change.He lowers his voice because she’s getting out of the car and skipping toward us. “Last night was…”

“A mistake,” I finish, in a dull monotone. “Aterriblemistake.”

Cade simultaneously flinches and straightens his spine, emotion making his eyes glisten. But it doesn’t give me any satisfaction to hurt him. “Don’t say that, Victory. It was… everything.”

“Glad we’re on the same page as usual,” I retort, lugging my suitcase toward Hannah’s car without a backward glance.

My best friend’s face falls as she looks back and forth between us for an explanation.

“Can we go, please? Now?” I ask, unceremoniously throwing my suitcase in the backseat of her car.

She gives her brother a confused look as she passes him the can of gas. “I’ll see you at home later. Are you going to work now?”

“Since I’m not driving Victory to the airport, I guess so.”

Rolling the window down without turning my head in his direction, I say, “Your phone is on your hood. You have some important messages.”

Hannah gets in the car, her face painted with sympathy. “Are you okay?” she asks softly.

“Please drive before I start bawling.”

I don’t even recognize my clogged voice, and my insides have effectively been pummeled. Britt has no reason to lie in a text message she had no idea I was reading. Apparently, Cade has become a stranger who I don’t know at all anymore.

Hannah complies, and I watch Cade in the mirror as he retrieves his phone. When he unlocks it, he mouths,fuck, and stares after the car like he’s going to chase us. I manage to look down before I cry.

“What happened, babe?” Hannah asks. “I’llkillhim. How did he ruin everything in less than five minutes?”

“Is he dating Britt?”

“He’s fucking Britt,” Hannah confirms. “They aren’t dating. Cade thinks she’s an idiot.”

“So, what does that make him?”

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