Page 51 of Hollywood Comes Home

Taking a seat at the end of the couch, I put my hands in my lap. He sat in the middle, leaving only a few inches of space between us. Arm laying on the back of the sofa, he observed me in silence for a moment. I knew we needed to discuss our feelings, but after last night, I was torn on whether or not this was a good idea.

“Should I start?” He jolted me from my reverie.

Bowing my head, I looked down at my hands. “No. I want to.” Taking a deep, shaky breath, I lifted my gaze to his. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I bobbed my head. “I’m ready.”

Nodding once, the corners of his lips twisted up.

Something in me flipped a switch, though I didn’t know why. I didn’t plan to yell or get mad. However, I stood and started parading furiously to the center of the room, spinning around to confront him. Holding my hips, I widened my eyes, clenching my jaw. His posture hardened, his eyes expanded to match mine.

“How dare you?!” I snapped before I could control my mouth. “How dare you call me when you’re fucking someone else?!”

“Amber, I—”

“How dare you shove your new little California hoes in my face?!” Flinging my arms out to the side, I scoffed.

“Baby, pl—”

“No!” I shook my finger. “Don’t you dare call mebaby! You hurt me! You destroyed me! I was so ready to move on then you came back to Boston, stalking me at work!”

“Can I sa—”

“You broke MY heart because YOU—”

“Because I fucked up.” Standing, he strode around the coffee table, anchoring himself in front of me. “Amber, I can’t continue to tell you I didn’t fuck anyone because I told you the truth.”

He reached for my hands, but I yanked them back, tucking them into my stomach.

“Yes, I did sort of hook up with the girls you saw me leaving the club with on TV. I refuse to lie to you. But I swear on my mother’s life that I didn’t have sex with anyone while away.” Closing his eyes, he dropped his head. “My stupid phone butt-dialed you in the limo, I guess. I didn’t even realize it until the next day.”

Scared to know the truth, I shouted, “WHY DID YOU EVEN BREAK UP WITH ME THEN, CHANCE?!”

“BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING TERRIFIED!”

Immediately, I was rendered mute. Not once had I ever heard Chance claim to be scared. “What could you even possibly be scared of?”

“Losing you.”

“But you left me!” I defended. “This was a terrible idea.” Mumbling, I marched out of the room, down the hallway, and into the foyer. Halting, I turned to see him stomping my way. “I’m leaving.”

“Amber, stop!”

“I’m trying to stop, trust me, but after everything I’ve been through in the past, I don’t want to hurt anymore. I’m human and love you and—” Not wanting him to see me weep for the trillionth time, my sentence trailed off.He was single and could do what he wanted. It still hurt to think about it.

Realizing being at his house was something I wasn’t ready for, I yanked open the front door to leave. He didn’t say a word. I glanced back to see him standing there, stoic, staring at the rug as I closed the front door behind me.

Fighting back my emotions, I plodded several blocks toward the nearest subway station. The wind blew through my hair, causing it to tousle in the breeze. Grabbing the band on my wrist, I stopped to tie my hair back when an oncoming car pulled to the side of the one-way road.

“Amber?”

I attempted to blow away the hairs sticking to my rose lipstick while my hands battled the length of my long strands. “Hi…pffftt—” I spit once again.

“Do you need a lift?” Alejandro leaned over further, calling out the passenger side window, chuckling at my struggle.

Shaking my head, I peeled the hair away from my mouth, finally freeing myself of my dilemma. “I’m just going right over there to the T.”

“Well, where are you going?” he called out over the impatient traffic.

“Home!” My tone might have been angrier than I wanted to let on.

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