The Line Between(91)

That was what I’d been betting on. The hurt and duplicity colliding in her eyes.

Now she knew how I felt when I saw her with another guy only days after I’d had her. I saw her withdraw into herself, and when she slammed their apartment door closed, I pulled away from Ashley and walked into mine and Reid’s’ apartment.

Pressing my back against the door, I sighed, and let my head fall back. “Shit,” I muttered.

My stomach sank, and regret coursed its way through my veins. That was a mistake.

And I needed to drink because I was an asshole.

Let’s have a toast to the douchebags, let’s have a toast to the assholes, I sang in my head. Kanye West sure knew what he was talking about.

I stepped towards the fridge when I heard a moan. My feet stopped, and my ears perked.

I heard it again.

It was coming from Reid’s’ room.

And the fucker had left his door open.

After a third moan echoed through the apartment I walked over to his door, intent on closing it, when I saw what was going on. Reid was on his back, with a girl riding him, her long midnight black hair cascading down her bare back.

Reid lifted his head, and spotted me at the door. Wrong timing, and I was sure he thought I was taking a peek. “Dane! What the fuck man!” He bellowed. The girls’ head turned and my jaw dropped.

“Jade???”

“Dane, get the fuck out!”

I quickly shut the door, standing open-mouthed. There was a commotion on the other side and I stepped aside just in time to remove myself from Jade’s path. She was half dressed, completely flustered and…angry?

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” She snapped, flying past me while trying to put her shoes on. I was still speechless.

“I…I…” I sputtered. “The door was open!”

“So you thought you’d watch like some kind of pervert?”

Reid barreled past me, heading straight for Jade. “Wait, you can’t leave. We still have to talk!”

“Ha!” Laughed Jade. “I’m not talking while he is here,” she glared hatefully, “I’m going back next door.”

“Me?” I asked incredulously. “Why are you upset with me? You’re the one caught screwing my best friend!”

“Kind of ironic, don’t you think?” She bit back. Her words took a minute to sink, but when they did, I realized why she was angry with me, and it had nothing to do with what I’d just walked in on.

“She told you,” I said under my breath. Unfortunately Jade still heard me.

“Yes, she did, and you know what, Dane? You don’t deserve her. You never did.”

Jade turned to leave, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“That’s rich,” I sneered, allowing my anger from earlier to make an appearance. “She’s already moved on.”

Jade’s brows dipped into a frown, and she shook my hand off her arm. “What makes you think that?”

“I saw her, this afternoon. She was already with some other guy. She looked real broken up about us when he had his arms around her.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

Jade reared back, and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I was starting to feel like I had.

“Will one of you care to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Reid interjected.

We both ignored him, and then Jade spoke. “The guy you saw her with is a very good friend of hers, who drove all the way here from Madison, Georgia, to check up on her because her grandparents are worried about her. She’s a fucking mess because of you, and you just had to make it a whole lot worse by asking our roommate on a date. You know, I would have rooted for you, but you royally fucked up the best thing that could have happened to you.”

Jade turned her head towards Reid. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I have some things to work out.”

Then she left, leaving both Reid and I dumbfounded.

Reid rubbed his hand down his face, and dressed in only a pair of his boxer briefs he really looked ridiculous.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “That was…”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“You want to tell me what the fuck just happened?”

I looked at my best friend, and decided it was time for a chat. I needed to get some of this shit off my chest before it completely consumed me. I’d fucked up, and anyone could tell me how to fix it, it was Reid.

“Grab a beer,” I said, turning towards the living room. “It’s going to be a long night.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Kennedy

I DIDN’T KNOW whether I wanted to scream, cry, throw something, or curl up into the fetal position and wait for…I don’t know what.

My bedroom door opened, and I knew it was Jade before she said anything. She lifted my comforter, and climbed into bed behind me.