6. Day Old Sushi #3
I cut her off. “No, Gen. Don’t try to bullshit your way out of this.
I’ve heard every little disgusting thing you said to your friends.
So don’t try to spin it like you only fucked around when we were broken up.
If I think about how worried I was about hurting you our first time.
Had I known that I was the only virgin in the room, I wouldn’t have been that nervous. ”
In typical Genevieve Bergen fashion, when she realizes that her lies have finally caught up with her, she goes on the offensive. “You know what, Mack? If I were you, I would get off your high horse. Stop acting like you didn’t step out on me too.”
“This is probably going to surprise you, Gen, because you wouldn’t know loyalty if it slapped you in the face. But I never once cheated on you. I’ve never been with another woman. Not even when we were on the many breaks we’ve had in these four years.”
“Fuck off.” She snorts. “Do you expect me to believe that you’ve never been tempted by all the puck bunnies who have been throwing themselves at you since high school? Not even when we were broken up?”
I feel like a complete idiot. Not because I did what I felt was right, but because it’s obvious that my loyalty wasn’t deserved or appreciated. “No, never.”
“Bullshit,” Gen fires at me. “No one has that much self-control.”
“And yet, I do. You need a lot of control and determination to excel in a competitive sport like hockey. And whether you believe it or not, I thought you deserved the same dedication. I’m not saying I was never tempted, but I’ve never been with anyone else, Gen.
I couldn’t bring myself to do it because we were always getting back together, and it felt wrong.
But that changes today. Remember when you broke up with me last year because you were mad that I would be training for most of the summer and you wanted a hot girl summer?
Well, fuck, today is the first day of a hot Mack summer.
I’m going to get a taste of everything that looks sexy. Nothing is off the table.”
She lowers her perfectly shaped eyebrows as she frowns. “Sure. I’ll give you spring break. But we’re going to get back together before summer training starts.”
The hell we are. “Because of the reality show you were talking about?”
I think the smile on my ex-girlfriend’s face might be the first real smile I’ve seen on her in all the years I’ve known her. “Yes. How about we both get some stuff out of our systems and then rock that reality show together?”
Is she nuts? “How about you do whatever you want and so do I for fucking ever? We’re over, Gen. For good this time.”
“But, babe—”
“Don’t call me babe!” I snap for the second time. “You and I are done.”
“Oh, come on, Mack. Don’t be ridiculous. We’re meant to be together.”
I shake my head and chuckle. The sound is harsh and bitter.
“The sad thing is that before I heard how you don’t give a shit about me, I thought so too.
But you know what, Gen? I think my feelings for you were just down to familiarity.
I’ve always known you. And when I felt like something was missing between us, I blamed myself because I’m always skating, always training.
I thought you held back on me because I deserved it.
Now I know it was because you don’t love me.
You never have. To you, I’m just the ticket to the lifestyle you think you’re entitled to. Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m out.”
Genevieve rolls her eyes. “God, you’re so dramatic. Whatever, Mack. Go fuck a couple of puck bunnies and then we’ll talk. I’ll email you my ring size and a couple of styles of engagement rings I like. I’m not gonna get stuck with an ugly ring. And it better be big enough to stand out on TV.”
I lean closer, planting my hand palm down on the lounger she’s sitting on, between her thighs.
Our faces are so close that I can smell the alcohol on her breath.
“We. Are. Not. Getting. Back. Together. Not now, not ever. Find someone else to buy you a ring and be your puppet on reality TV. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll be civil in front of our families, but if I had a choice, I’d never want to see you again. Got it?”
Gen bites her bottom lip as her eyes well up. If I hadn’t seen her use fake tears to get her way a million times before, I would fall for it. She’s that good an actress.
“Fine. Be like that. Just know that I’m going to be here once you realize what a huge mistake you’re making. When you remember that before being your girlfriend, I’m your best friend.”
I stand up to my full stature, putting distance between me and Gen. “My friends don’t use me and don’t betray me the way you’ve been doing our whole relationship. When I say we’re done, I mean it. Stay away from me, Gen.”
There’s a beat of silence, but it’s just the calm before the storm.
As I turn on my heel to walk away, Gen begins yelling all sorts of threats, showing her true colors.
Maybe I should feel sad, since she’s all I’ve ever known when it comes to love and relationships. But somehow I can’t find it in me to feel that way.
It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. For the first time in years, I walk away from my ex’s house feeling as light as a feather.
The summer was fun. I’ve given in to all my wildest urges, and I’ve been doing it in front of my ex.
It wasn’t out of vindictiveness, even though I’d be lying if I said that seeing her seething every time I took one of her teammates to my room wasn’t fun.
The truth is that I was single, and I had no one and nothing to hold me back for the first time.
I had fun and made sure my partners did too.
And since I know first-hand how shitty it feels to be on the receiving end of lies and betrayal, I was always upfront about what was on offer to any woman who came home with me.
It was fun, but it wasn’t really what I wanted. I would have ended my wild summer in a heartbeat if Talia had ever given me the time of day. Even for the chance to get to know her better as friends. I would have risked it all. But my best friend’s sister has always been polite but distant.
I exhale as I open my bedroom door on the top floor of the Gamma house.
Talia and I have never had a class together. Who knows? Maybe that will give us a chance to cross the line from acquaintances to friends.
I could ask her to study together. That would be a great way to spend time with her.
My mind is made up that I’ll try to make a plan to become Talia’s study buddy, and I’m so taken with that idea, already playing all the possible scenarios in my head, that I’m not paying attention to my surroundings.
The first thing that pulls me out of my own thoughts is a vague fishy smell the second I set foot in my room.
Hopefully Tucker didn’t let Baety have free roam of the house again. That duck is cute, but she’s a menace.
When my eyes land on the source of the fishy smell, I wish there was a duck on my bed.
“Gen,” I’m so shocked that it takes me a second to find any words. “What in the ever loving fuck are you doing in my bed? And is that sushi on your tits and your crotch?”
I blink a few times as if that could make the scene in front of me disappear.
Gen is naked against my pillows aside from two round sushi pieces covering her nipples, one on her belly button and what looks like a giant sushi roll in the shape of a cone covering her pussy.
She doesn’t let the bewildered expression on my face derail what she must have planned. “It’s our first day of classes. I thought it would be nice to bring my boyfriend some breakfast.”
I tighten my grip on the door handle with white-knuckle force.
“I’m not your boyfriend. I’ve always hated sushi, and even if I hadn’t, raw fish is the last thing I would eat for breakfast. Now take your fish with you and go.
I still need to shower, and if you make me late for class, I’ll be very pissed. ”
“But Mack, I—”
“You have thirty seconds to get dressed and get out. Or I’ll throw you out in the hallway buck naked.”
Thank fuck, she knows that I mean it.
Once she’s out of my sight, I open the windows to air my room.