Page 38 of Pour It On Me

“Don’t call me that.” Simone glared, and I gaped at her.

The last time I had seen her, she was kissing me in front of her door and asking me to come in. The only reason I didn’t was because I wouldn’t have left until morning. Holding her until she fell asleep had sounded far too tempting after seeing her so vulnerable. Now she wouldn’t get any closer to me than I forced her to.

“I’m telling you, you didn’t hear the whole thing. It was a really long conversation.”

Ash and I had been talking. I had told him I couldn’t figure out what it was about her that made me drop everything and rush to her side. Why did it bother me so much that she had been crying when I’d gotten to her car on the highway? I needed to know why I regretted not staying in her bed that night when I remembered so vividly how much I had disliked her just weeks ago.

Now she was all I could think about, and with tears silently streaming down her face, she grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away. She dipped under my arm, pausing at the door. She fidgeted with the handle, squeezing the metal and releasing it a couple of times before she let go and turned to face me. “I heard enough. Goodbye, Logan.”

“Simone, stop.” I grabbed her, wrapping my arm across the front of her chest and over her shoulder and pulling her back. She stepped back towards the wall and out of my gasp, glaring at me.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Quicker than she had blinked, she pulled her arm back and brought it forward. The palm of her hand hit my cheek, and the blow stung. My jaw ached, and I could feel the sudden throbbing in my teeth. I cradled my cheek, and she stormed past me.

The door slammed behind her. I hurried after her, pulling it open in time to hear her theatrical cough. One, followed by another. “I’m sick. I think I’m going to head home if that’s okay.”

Auston looked from her to where I stood in the doorway with his brow furrowed. I shrugged, and he sighed, shaking his head at me before offering her a soft but confused smile. “Yeah, you should get some rest.”

Simone nodded, giving me a final glance from the corner of her eye on the way out the door. I braced myself for the onslaught of questions from Auston that were sure to follow, stiffening my spine. “Let me have it,” I said, inviting his blows.

“I’m not going to let you have anything. This isn’t my problem. It’s yours. Figure it out.” He rubbed his finger and thumb against his temple with a sigh. “I swear, Logan. Don’t fucking run her off.”

Apparently I already had.

Chapter 26

Simone

Istormed through the living room and into the kitchen without setting my bag down or taking off my jacket. My purse stayed hooked over my arm while I grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge, cracking both of them open and walking into the living room. Dropping into the chair, I drank from one beer and then the next before tossing my bag on the end table.

Emmy watched me, leaving her phone open and letting a short video repeat while she stared. “Rough night?” She sounded half amused but mostly confused, judging by the look on her face. Her mouth hung open, and one eyebrow was lifted, while both eyes were slightly narrowed. She checked the time on her phone. “Or… err… afternoon?”

“Please don’t start,” I said, sucking in a deep breath and taking a gulp of the beer in my right hand.

“I thought you were closing tonight.” Her statement was the onslaught of her interrogation, and it felt like she was in the mood to play the stubborn, pushy cop tonight.

I sighed. “The bar crowd was dead tonight, so they didn’t need me there.”

My roommate stared at me like I was growing something out of my ears, and I shrugged. I took another long gulp from one beer, switching hands and taking a swallow from the next. When I looked at her, I gave her the same smile I gave my best friend’s grandma at Easter brunch, and she laughed.

“I don’t think you’re telling the truth,” she said, grabbing one of the half-finished beers from me and taking a swig. “But whatever. Let’s watch a movie that makes you forget about the real reason you’re home early.”

Emmy looked at me with a sly glance. She knew I wasn’t telling her the truth, but judging by the way she relaxed and wrapped herself in the blanket, she wasn’t going to push me any further. I appreciated that about her. Chance would always push me to talk about what was bothering me, and sometimes I just wanted to have a couple beers and forget about it. My new roommate was more than willing to accommodate the latter.

Once we had settled on watching a silly cartoon I didn’t recognize, because naturally a cartoon was the best answer for a couple adult women, we opened a couple more beers and got comfortable. I had the warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach that I got when I was completely relaxed.

For a moment, as the music started and a cartoon mouse made his way across the screen, I forgot about Logan and how much he couldn’t stand me. I forgot about the way his words felt like the time I’d fallen off the swing and knocked the wind out of me. I was just watching a movie meant for kids and apparently also for slightly drunk adults.

I stood up to grab another beer, noticing the light on my phone flashing when I sat back down. Emmy noticed it too, judging by the way she watched me grab it and unlock the screen. The air was pulled from my lungs, and I inhaled a fresh breath of frustration.

LOGAN: Will you let me explain?

Emmy paused the movie. “Okay, what’s actually going on?”

“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head and pointing to the TV in hopes it would get her to drop the argument and hit play.

“Liar.” She played the movie anyway, pursing her lips. My relief was short-lived when she shook her head, disagreeing with her internal monologue, and paused the movie again. “This is about Logan, isn’t it? What did he do?”

“It’s not about Logan.” I shrugged, preparing to delete the message and turn my phone off when it buzzed again.

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