Page 48 of Ever After

Alex chokes on his beer. “No. I never said that.”

“Don’t mess anything up for me Alex. I’m still trying to make it official with Lilah. You piss Lia off. It might ruin my chances,” Jays says as he looks at me and gives me a wink.

I hear Lia walk out of the house and immediately turn my head toward her. She walks over to a chair next to mine and sits down.

We fill the rest of the evening with food, beer, and laughter—the three things everyone should enjoy in their life. I finally feel a strong sense of relief, being back here with Jay. I’m leaving all my troubles behind and focusing on him and the potential we have.

The four of us gather around the fire pit and watch the sunset. It’s the perfect end to our evening. Occasionally, Jay leans over and gives me a kiss on the lips. He looks so happy in this moment. I wish I could give this to him all the time. I know he is hurting though, because we haven’t made anything official between us yet.

Lia's mouth goes wide with an enormous yawn as I look over at her, and the next second, a yawn comes out of me, too.

“I’m going to head out,” Alex says, standing up looking over at us.

“Are you ready to go to bed Lia?” I ask.

“Yeah. I think I’m ready.”

We all start getting up, and Jay walks over to the side of the house and grabs the hose and turns the water on. He walks back over to us and sprays the fire with the hose to extinguish it. I stand and watch him while Alex and Lia walk back into the house, saying their goodbyes.

“This was a fun night. I’m glad Alex and Lia are getting along so well,” I say to Jay.

“Me too. I’m glad I got to meet her.”

I walk over to Jay and wrap my arms around his midsection while we watch the fire go out. Smoke wafts upward from the fire pit, and I turn my head to his chest, covering my face. Jay plant a kiss on the top of my head, and I look up at him just as he kisses me on the lips.

“What the fuck Jay? How many whores are you with now?”

Both of our bodies go stiff to the sound of that voice. We’re both still staring at each other as he tightens his hold on me. Footsteps approach from behind us and a sinking feeling swirls in my gut.

“Who are you calling a whore and who the fuck are you?” Lia asks.

I let go of Jay and turn around, spotting none other than Lindsee standing there with her hands on her hips with a smug look on her face. Jay’s face looks defeated when I look back at him. I know that face because that’s the face I get when Aiden pops in on me out of nowhere.

Alex comes outside scratching his head. “Hey man, I’m sorry. She came barging in as I was trying to leave.”

“What are you doing here, Lindsee?” Jay asks, a bite to his tone.

He sounds like exhaustion overcame him the second he turned around and faced her. I hear it in his voice. I see it in his body posture. Seems like neither of us can catch a break with our exes.

“Thisis Lindsee?” Lia asks, pointing at her.

“The one and only,” I say.

“What the fuck was Aiden thinking?” She looks over at Jay. “No offense, Jay. But seriously?”

Lindsee is the definition of a bimbo. She has bleached blonde hair with cheap ass extensions clipped in and clothes that look like a toddler could fit into them. Let’s not forget the hot pink lipstick she wears. I’m surprised she doesn’t have any leopard and stiletto shoes—they seem fitting for her. Oh, wait, that’s what she wore when I caught her in bed with Aiden. The last two times I saw her, I never paid much attention to her looks. Now I’m looking her up and down, and she looks like a cheap escort. I never asked Jay what she did for a living. He has mentioned her always wanting to spend his money on high end brands to make herself appear richer. The way she looks now, I’m guessing she can’t afford those high-end brands. Staring at her makes me sick, especially knowing Aiden slept with her when we were married.

“Screw you bitch,” she spits out as she turns to Lia and gives her the middle finger. I look over at Lia, and she snorts out a laugh.

“No thanks. You screwed yourself enough in this situation. Good job, by the way,” Lia says with a fake smile.

I look back over at Lindsee, and hear a pout come from her mouth. Then she walks over to Jay and reaches for his hand. He flinches and moves back like an animal is about to attack.

“What the hell Jay? You don’t have to be scared of me.”

“What are you doing here? You need to leave. I have told you repeatedly I want nothing to do with you and to leave me alone. What’s it going to take for you to understand that?”

“I just… I really need you. My mom told me she ran into you, and you didn’t look so good. She said it looked like you’re hurting more than you’re willing to let on. I want to be here for you, Jay. I know we can make this work. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

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