Page 10 of The Little Black Rose

Chapter5

It was Me

Zeke

It’s Saturday night, and I actually have plans. Granted, those plans are with my sister and her friends––including Ava––but it’s still better than sitting here in this apartment by myself. Besides, I’m really only going because of Jared and Sam.

Those two befriended me when I gave them no indication I was open to it. I had to learn how to let my guard down with them, and when I did, I found something I didn’t know I’d been missing for the last several years…realfriends.

The kind of friends who would never dream of betraying me by allowing themselves to fall for the woman I love.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly as my mind fights to lock out the bad memories. They’ve been slithering in more and more often lately, and I plop down on the couch with a sigh. I’m tired. I’ve spent too much time erecting walls and licking old wounds. Maybe if I just stop fighting and let the memories come, I can finally start to move on instead of pretending like I’ve been doing since that day.

Samantha Mayflower blew into my life like a hurricane, and the destruction she left behind was just as severe. I met her during my last year of pastry school. We were partners in an advanced fondant-making class, and we ended up sleeping together within the first week. After that, we were inseparable. When school ended, she moved in with me and my best friend and roommate, Josh. Samantha and Josh got along from the start, and we were living the dream. I openedGlaZZedwith Zoey, and Samantha got a job at a premiere bakery in North Vegas.

I thought I was in love with her, that I wanted to spend my life making her happy and creating a family with her. I even bought a fucking ring and planned out the perfect proposal. But that plan never came to fruition. Samantha found the ring under our mattress when she was putting on fresh sheets––something I was responsible for, so I never expected her to find it there.

I found her sitting on our stripped bed, the box in her hand and tears in her eyes. I tried to tell her it was okay. Ruining the surprise was nothing but a blip in the full scope of things and what our future held for us. But that wasn’t why she was crying.

No, she was crying because she didn’t want tohurtme. Apparently, she’d fallen in love with someone else and had been trying to figure out how to tell me. It didn’t take rocket science to figure out who she’d fallen for. It was right there in front of my face, but I’d refused to see it.

Josh. My best friend and the woman I planned to marry had been falling for each other while we played house. All the little looks I’d witnessed and wrote off as my imagination flashed behind my eyes. Finding them laughing in the kitchen at some joke I wasn’t privy to. The way she blushed when he ruffled her hair or gave her a compliment.

And there I was, the idiot who wassohappy his best friend and girlfriend got along.

And the reason she’d decided to strip the sheets that fateful day? She never told me outright, but did admit they’d finally succumbed to their desires andmade love. She fucked him in our bed, then found the ring I so desperately wanted to put on her finger.

I didn’t yell. I didn’t rage or fight. I simply packed a bag and left. I went back for the rest of my things when I knew they’d be at work and left my key to the apartment on the kitchen counter.

And I never spoke to either of them again. I built my walls and blocked everyone out, swearing I’d never trust anyone again. So, maybe I was young and had a bit of a flare for the dramatic, but my oath to never let anyone get close enough to hurt me again stuck. It just felt easier that way.

And I know Zoey was responsible for Jared and Sam’s sudden interest in hanging out with me, and that’s okay. We’ve grown closer over the last few months, and I’m happy to call them both friends. Sam will soon be my brother-in-law, and Jared is engaged to Sophie, so I know what happened with Josh won’t happen with them. Besides, it’s not like I plan to fall in love again, so there would be no one for them to steal away.

I lean my head back against the couch and close my eyes, taking a mental and emotional inventory. Letting those memories in didn’t hurt as badly as I expected it to. Maybe I’m finally over Samantha. Or maybe I didn’t really love her as much as I thought I did.

Either way, I feel lighter than I have in years.Damn. Maybe I should’ve worked through those memories a long time ago.

I push myself up from the couch and straighten my button-down. Rolling the sleeves up to my elbows, I walk into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. As I lift the glass to my lips, a knock sounds on my door.

My brow wrinkles as I set the glass aside and go to answer it. I’m not expecting anyone, and the only people who ever knock on my door are probably at Sophie and Jared’s by now.

I swing open the door, and my body comes alive at the sight before me. Ava, in a pair of skinny jeans and a flowy top that hangs low on her chest, showing the top swells of her breasts. I instantly berate myself for reacting. I may be opening up, mentally, but I’m not ready to go there again. And I never will be.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice gruffer than I intended it to be.

She rolls her eyes. “I can’t deal with your ass-stick today, Zeke. I need to talk to you.”

“Ass-stick?” I parrot, my eyebrows arching upward.

“Can I come in? Please?”

Though the words are polite, her tone is filled with annoyance…and something else. Desperation? Fear?

I shake my head and step to the side, motioning for her to come in. I must’ve imagined it. Ava Brown fears nothing.

“Would you like something to drink?” I ask when she just paces the living room and stares at the floor.

“What?” she asks, stopping to look at me. “No, thank you. I need to tell you something.”

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