Page 21 of Best Friend's Dirty Ex

It’s such an alien feeling, because again, I like pleasing my partners, but my pleasure has never come from their orgasm alone.

Troubled, yet still relieved, I begin to scrub myself down, trying not to think too much about what this means, or what effect it’ll have on me moving forward.

Chapter Eleven

Everly

“Watch that light fixture!” I wave to my guys, and they look up where I’m pointing, then lower their ladder, careful not to hit the fixtures that are coming out and need to be replaced. One nods at me while the other flashes a thumb’s up that they heard me and will be careful.

With a smile and a deep inhale, I plant my hands on my hips and scan the office space. I love this music. The sound of people working, the low hushed voices as people talk, the sound of work getting done, and power tools. Most of all, I love to see a plan come together.

Seeing how this room looks without the garish and ugly features leaves me confident that my changes and plans are going to make this space amazing and everything that Troy could want or dream. It's strange how often Troy comes up in my thoughts, but it’s likely because I’m working on his space. Surely that’s all there is to my thoughts being centered on him.

From my pocket my phone rings and I pull the device out. Unknown number. Lifting it to my face and shoving my finger in my other ear to muffle some of the noise, I answer. “Hello?”

“Hi, Everly.”

The second I hear the strangely disjointed voice, a shiver sneaks down my spine. My first thought is maybe that the speaker is muffled or in an area where they don't have good reception and the phone is messing with their sound quality. Or maybe someone's using a voice changer like in the movies to deepen their voice. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.

“Who is this?”

The person on the other end of the line sounds playfully offended. “We just met in the park the other day.”

My heart begins to pound in my chest like a caged butterfly, frantic to escape. My mouth goes completely dry and a familiar sensation of fear rises up in me, but I can't explain where the emotion is coming from... or why I’m feeling it.

“Konan?” The second I whisper his name, I know I shouldn't have because I don't think I'm talking to Konan. But by saying his name, I just gave this person the information they need to pretend to be him. But who would play games with me like this? Only my ex would pull a weird stunt like this. Is this my ex trying to trick me?

As every hair on my body stands on end, I sneak out of the busy room and head for a quiet spot so I can better hear this person. I want to know exactly what's going on, but I can't figure things out if I can't hear.

But there's no way James would make a move like this. It's been months and he hasn't tried anything, and I still can't be sure that I actually saw him at the park. Maybe it's just my mind running wild. The first couple of weeks after we split, I swore I saw him everywhere at the store, outside Lyla’s place, the bar we’d visited... but it had never been him. James moved on. He found someone else, and he's no longer after me.

I know that for a fact. I've seen his social media posts with some pretty blonde with a bright smile and light blue eyes. I've seen his friends congratulating him on his new catch. And while I'd expected to feel sad that I'd been so easily discarded and cast aside, honestly I just feel relieved that I'm no longer the person he's hurting. I feel bad for the woman he's with now and how he's absolutely going to mistreat her. But I'm glad to be free.

“I just wanted to ask you out again to see if maybe you changed your mind?” And there it is; how would James know that detail? Konan asked me out. That was an intimate, quiet conversation, so maybe I am actually speaking to the man he’s claiming to be.

But then again, maybe not, because this person's missing all the suave easy charm that Konan had that had so easily drawn me in. Instead of being smooth about asking me out, he just came out and asked and that doesn't feel right. Even though I didn't really know Konan and we only spoke for a few minutes, he was nothing if not smooth.

I switched my phone from one side of my face to the other so I can rub my damp palm on my pants to get rid of the slippery moisture. My whole body is prickling with heat, and I can feel myself beginning to sweat.

“I don't think I've changed my mind, no.” I want to be gentle in the way I speak to this person in case there are threats, but I also want to be firm and very, very clear that I'm not interested.

“Come on, just give a guy a chance.”

He pushes my very clearly stated boundary, reminds me more of my ex than of the man that I'd met in the park. Konan hadn't pushed. When I said no, he'd been very respectful. He'd taken a step back. He'd given me my space. He'd accepted my answer. This person doesn't seem to be doing that.

With every red flag flapping in my periphery, I try to figure out how to further explain that I'm not interested without potentially upsetting this person, who may or may not be a danger to me. I have to assume that if they knew that I was in the park with Konan, maybe they also know where I live. Maybe they know where I am right now. Maybe they know what I drive. Maybe they have all the information they need to retaliate against me for saying no.

“I'm not sure I'm comfortable going on a date with you.” I don't know how else to turn him down because I still don't know that I'm talking to the person he's claiming to be. But then again, how would James know that Konan asked me out? And why would I necessarily think that it was James? Like I said, James moved on with his life. He has no use for me now. Why would he play games with me this long after we'd split? It just doesn't make sense.

As the confusion and frustration swirl around and round my mind, I wind up tangled and confused, unsure what's going on and uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“That’s a shame, I really thought we had a connection.” Despite the strangely disjointed voice, I hear a flatness to the tone, as if the person isn’t happy with my response.

“If you thought we had a connection, then why did I turn you down for that date?” Maybe a little sleuthing will get me the answers I'm looking for. Because either this person is Konan and will know the answer to the question, or they won't know the answer and I'll have some proof that this is some impostor with an ulterior motive.

“I'm not interested in head games, sorry.”

“I'm not interested in head games either. I just thought that maybe if you recalled the reason I turned you down, it would make you understand a little better why I'm still turning you down.” Again, I keep my tone light and playful with every intention not to anger this person.

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