Page 73 of Secret Squirrel

I was never going to escape her. “Carly—and we’re not together. It was just some fun.”

His knowing grin had me flipping him off. “And that’s why you’re eating here instead of at the diner.”

We took a seat at the bar and pulled out the menus. I already knew what I wanted, but I had a feeling other questions were about to follow that up. Questions I didn’t particularly want to answer. So, hiding in a menu seemed as good a choice as any.

“So, Rae…”

I slammed the menu shut and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Christ, already?”

“Already, what?”

“Look, I can’t help it that she won’t take my calls. Ever since she spent the night, she’s been avoiding me. If something’s going on with her at work, it’s not my fault. I didn’t screw her and leave. It was the other way around.”

His eyebrow quirked at me, then a grin split his lips.

“Shit,” I swore under my breath. “You didn’t know.”

He shook his head. “But I do now. When did you say this happened?”

“Does it matter?”

He chuckled ruefully. “Oh, it matters, alright.”

“A few days ago,” I sighed. “Not that she gives a shit.”

“So, when you call her, are you asking to talk to her?”

I shrugged, not following where he was going with this. “I call. I leave a message for her to call me back.”

He looked so fucking disappointed in me. “That’s not how you handle a woman like Rae. Force is the only way. You should know that after fucking her.” Then he looked at me strangely. “Or did you go the gentle route?”

“Hey, my fucking has no business in this conversation.”

“Actually, it does. It would actually explain a whole hell of a lot.”

“What? That I’m not a good lover?”

The bartender chose that moment to walk over. He eyed me warily before tossing a coaster down in front of me. “Whiskey?”

“Just a beer,” I glared at him.

He widened his eyes at me, stepping back. “Just sounds like you’re having a rough day.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, ready to jump over the counter and show him what a rough day looked like. Cash grabbed my shoulder, forcing me back in my seat.

“Just two beers,” he said, nodding at the man. The man popped the tops and set them in front of us. “We’ll order in a minute.”

The man took the dismissal and walked away. “Fucking prick,” I snarled.

“Man, whatever happened with you and Rae, you need to chill the fuck out.”

“I had her,” I grumbled. “I finally had her, and it was fucking amazing.”

He nodded. “Did she slip out during the night?”

I felt like shit admitting just how great it had been, and how quickly that changed. “I made her breakfast and everything. Things were going good. I don’t know what the fuck happened.”

“The trick is, you need to force yourself on her.”

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