I didn’t want to believe that they had slept together less than a week ago, but what did I know? Even though he hadn’t openly admitted to it, I had a sneaking suspicion that the person who had called Brax that day at the restaurant had been Heather.
Did I even have the right to be pissed since we hadn’t been going out on Sunday? I mean, were we even going out now? Or were we just fuck buddies?
My heart was pounding nearly out of my chest. I went back inside, poured my untouched coffee down the sink, rinsed out the cup and put it in the cupboard, then went to the bathroom to clean up. My throat was tight. I hated this feeling.
Putting my used towels in the laundry room, I grabbed my purse and went to my car.
I’d seen her car—a new little luxury four-door. Either she had rich parents or she made amazing tips. That bitch had even smirked at my older model car.
Oh my God, what was I doing—comparing myself to a teenager again?
If I ran with men like Brax Mitchell, then this is what I was going to get. It didn’t matter that we’d had mind-blowing sex last night that would have me forever comparing other men to him. Not to mention his amazing body and equally amazing cock.
And as much as he’d made me feel special from the first day he’d shown up on my front porch reporting for duty, he was still the lady killer I had been warned about.
So if I had gone in with eyes wide open, then why did it hurt so damned bad now to know that his ex wasn’t really an ex, but a girl he still nailed? Who else did he still sleep with?
I was so disappointed. It took me less than a minute to get home, and I was relieved to see my driveway was empty. I had no right to be angry with Brax, but I was. Damn men for not being able to keep their dicks in their pants.
Everywhere I looked in my torn apart house reminded me of Brax. I would never get any peace, and sitting here waiting for him to show up wasn’t an option either. I would leave the front door unlocked and leave a note.
Maybe I was being a little childish by not texting or calling him first.
Unable to sit still, I slid on shorts and a tank top and running shoes and went for a quick jog, knowing that it was one of the two things that relaxed me. Part of me wanted to go by my parents’ house, yet I didn’t want to see Toby, especially just in case he had talked to Brax and knew I’d spent the night. Which left me with Kara. She said she lived over by Horseshoe Lake.
Kids were out playing in the cul-de-sac, and I breathed a sigh of relief to see Kara’s SUV in the driveway of a traditional brick house.
There was an old Band-Aid over the doorbell with ‘SHHHH…kids are sleeping’ written in black ink. I knocked and waited.
Nothing.
I tried again and heard movement in the house in the form of kids squealing and a dog barking.
Great.
The door opened and Kara answered, looking irritated, until she saw it was me.
“Mandy, what are you doing?”
“Sorry, I was going for a jog, and I…”
“Lower your voice. I don’t want my husband knowing my friends actually exercise.” She gave me a wink and ushered me inside the house. “I’m just fucking with you. He’s not here.”
Relieved her husband wasn’t home, I followed her into a living room that was littered with toys and what looked to be unfolded laundry. “Excuse the mess. You can tell I never did get the hang of cleaning.”
When we were kids, she was a slob. Even her car had been a bit of a hovel. “You have children. I get it.”
“You’re totally judging me right now, aren’t you?”
I smiled, already feeling better.
Her six-year-old sat on the couch with a tablet, and the four-year-old was cutting up different colored construction paper. Kara turned up the volume on the television and ushered me into the kitchen.
While the kids played, Kara turned to me. “Okay, so spill. What’s going on?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. I just wanted to see where you lived.”
She stared and then smiled. “You’re so lying. You forget, I know your right eye does that weird twitchy thing when you get nervous.”
Damn it. I took a deep breath and released it. “Swear you won’t say anything to anybody?”
Lifting her pinky toward me, I laughed, but slid mine around hers.
“I swear,” she said. “Now tell me everything.”
“I stayed the night with Brax last night.”
Her eyes widened. “You lucky bitch.”
“Heather showed up this morning.”
She poured us both a cup of coffee. “She showed up this morning. Well, what did Brax say to her?”
“He wasn’t there. He left to check on a job in Camas.” I took a sip of coffee. “She told me they had been together on Sunday.”