Chapter 9 #2
And just like that, something in her changed. She looked to me and her expression grew calculating as a chilling smile stretched across her face before she turned back to Hayes. “It was one thing when we were together, but that’s not the case anymore.”
Oh my god. They were together?
“Ah fuck,” I barely heard Carl mutter over the blood rushing through my ears.
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Hayes snarled. “Are you kiddin’ me, Harley?”
“No, Hayes, I’m not kidding you.”
The tension in the air ratcheted up to about a thousand as he took a menacing step closer. “I’d be real careful right about now if I were you. It’s pretty goddamn obvious you’ve built up our time together in your head to be somethin’ a lot fuckin’ more than it actually was.”
The stiffness in my shoulders began to ease until Harley spoke again.
“Didn’t feel like I was makin’ it into more than it was every time you climbed into my bed,” she returned smugly.
I was going to be sick. My knees started to go weak and my vision grew cloudy as my stomach clenched violently.
“You know what? That’s it.” Hayes took a threatening step closer to her.
“I’m sick and tired of your shit. Let’s get somethin’ straight.
The first time I fucked you, I did it because I was wasted off my ass and you reminded me of Tempie.
” Holy shit. “And when I wasn’t drunk, takin’ you from behind provided me with the same reminder.
You were good enough that I didn’t mind goin’ back from time to time, but that wasn’t a relationship.
For fuck’s sake, I never took you out for a single meal.
I wouldn’t even buy you a goddamn coffee.
When I wanted to fuck you, we did it at your place because I didn’t want you in mine.
And since you’re obviously too much of a spoiled brat to see the truth, it’s worth repeating that I only fucked you because you reminded me of Tempie. ”
The buzz in the diner grew louder as more people were drawn into the dramatic showdown unfolding.
“You’re an asshole,” she hissed, and for a second I worried she was going to try and claw his eyes out.
“Maybe you’d have a man by now if you weren’t such a fuckin’ bitch, but you are, and the moment you open your goddamn mouth, you let all that bitterness out.
No man in his right mind likes the taste of bitter.
We like the kind of sweet that’ll melt in our mouths.
You learn that, maybe you’ll stop runnin’ every dick-carrying member of this town off.
But I’m not holding my breath for that to happen. ”
“I don’t see your perfect Tempie with a man,” she fired back.
Hayes crossed his arms over his chest and smirked down at her in a way that was almost frightening. “Big difference between a woman bein’ single by choice and one bein’ single because she’s a fuckin’ harpy that sucks the will to live outta every man she sets her sights on.”
Her mouth dropped open and her cheeks turned a deep, painfully bright red. “Fuck you, Hayes,” she seethed before shoving through our huddle and stomping out. Even irate, her hips swayed in a ridiculous fashion.
Everyone in the diner watched Harley’s dramatic retreat, then turned back to me and Hayes once she was out of sight, staring so hard I felt like their eyes drilling holes into the back of my head.
“I need to, uh, go do…” anything that’ll get me the hell out of here, I left unsaid. Spinning around, I rushed past the counter and into the safety of the kitchen.
Ralph looked up from the stove, his face awash with sympathy, but he didn’t say a word as he allowed me the silence to have my second freak out of the day.
He slept with her. Hayes actually had sex with that vile woman. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Every time I tried, my stomach sank and my eyes burned.
Before I could get a handle on the mess swirling around inside my head, the door from the dining area swung open and Hayes filled the doorway with his large, imposing body. His eyes pinned me to the spot as he asked, “You okay, angel?”
“You’re not supposed to be back here.”
At my response, his expression grew hard as stone and he stepped farther into the kitchen. “Ralph, you mind givin’ us a minute?”
“What?” I squeaked as panic set in. “No. He can’t do that.”
“On it.” Ralph quickly shut off the burners and started for the door.
“What? No! You can’t just leave. We have customers and they need food.”
“They’ll wait,” Hayes stated plainly as Ralph left the kitchen.
“Uh, Hayes, this is a diner. Where people come to dine. And you just kicked the cook out of the kitchen.”
He moved closer, forcing me to back up until my behind hit a countertop. “Well this wouldn’t take long if you’d quit arguin’ in an attempt to avoid me.”
“What?” I let out a slightly hysterical giggle. “I’m not avoiding you. But I need to go check my tables.”
“You can check ’em in a second. Right now, I need you to answer my question.”
I was already a mess as it was, and the musky, manly scent of his cologne invading my senses as he grew closer wasn’t helping. “W-what was the question?”
The corner of his mouth rose a touch, not in a smile but in a smirk that only made him that much hotter. “Are you okay?”
The question finally registered. Am I okay? I honestly didn’t know if I was, but I really didn’t feel like getting into that with him at that very moment. “Yeah, totally. I’m good.”
His head cocked to the side as that smirk curled into a frown. “You’re lying.”
“I am not!” I objected loudly. “I’m fine, Hayes. Seriously.”
“You’ve had a rough morning,” he surmised, stating the obvious. And with that, I was officially done with this conversation.
“Definitely not the first rough morning I’ve ever had, and I doubt it’ll be the last. I can deal.”
Hayes’s eyes went gentle in that way that used to always make my blood burn for him. “You’re upset, angel. Talk to me.”
God, he was killing me. “There’s nothing to talk about,” I muttered. “I’m not upset, I just really need to get back to work.
“Bullshit,” he clipped back, making my back go straight. “You’re tryin’ to push me away. Talk to me.”
“Did you ever stop to think that maybe I don’t want to talk about it?
” I snapped. “Especially to you.” Anger was a defense mechanism I’d become well acquainted with over the years.
Every time I felt backed into a corner, I lashed out, needing to distance myself from everyone and everything.
It was the only way I knew how to cope when everything became too much and I felt like the walls were closing in on me.
His chin jerked back in surprise at my acerbic tone before understanding dawned and his features softened once more. “This is about Harley.”
My jaw locked so tight it began to hurt. “It is not.”
“It is. I forgot how much you hated her back in high school.”
I pushed off the counter and put several feet between us. “I have tables to see to. I don’t have time for this.”
He wanted to continue pushing, I could see it written all over his face, but thankfully he didn’t. “Fine. But we’re finishing this conversation tonight.”
With everything that had just gone down, I’d completely forgotten about my plans to have dinner with Hayes. And now that I was standing there, cut open bleeding thanks to Harley’s gift at tearing me down, I wasn’t sure I was up for a private heart-to-heart with him.
“You know what? I forgot that tonight doesn’t really work for me. I’ve got a lot of things I need to take care of.”
“I’m sure you can get it all handled before dinner.” Then he turned on his boots and started for the door, leaving me flabbergasted.
“I—what?”
“I’ll see you tonight at seven. And angel.” His massive hand was holding the door open as he looked at me from over his shoulder. “You’re not there at seven, I’ll track your ass down. And I won’t be happy about it.”