Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
We can set up an arrangement where he sees Gigi without me having to see his face. Maybe then, I’ll finally be able to get over him.
Yeah, good luck with that.
No, I can do this. I’m gonna go see him to tell him exactly how it’s going to be.
I pocket my cell and leave my room. I look in on Gigi.
Fast asleep.
I jog downstairs. I find Aunt Elle at the dining table, case files spread out on it.
“Hey, I need to go out for just a short while. You okay to watch Gigi? She’s sleeping, so she won’t bother you while you work.”
She looks up from her reading, smiling. “Of course I am. And Gigi could never bother me. You know that.” Her eyes focus in on my face and line with concern. “You okay?”
I realize that I’m tapping my foot with restless energy. I stop. “Yeah…I just need to talk to Zeus.”
She nods but doesn’t say anything, and I appreciate that.
“I won’t be long.”
“Take as long as you need.”
I grab my car keys and leave the house.
On the short drive to Zeus’s, Little Mix’s “Nobody Like You” plays in my car, the words pricking at my heart.
I pull up outside his apartment. Get out of my car and walk the short distance to his door.
Reaching it, I ring the bell. Then, my brain decides to work.
What if he’s not here? Or worse…what if Mindi’s here?
Shit. I really didn’t think this through.
God, I can be irrational at times.
I need to get out of here.
I step back to leave when the door opens, and he’s standing there, wearing dark gray trackpants slung low on his hips and a fitted black T-shirt. His hair is damp, like he just had a shower.
What if he just got out of the shower because he got all sweated up from having sex with Mindi?
“Hi,” he says.
I note a hint of caution in his tone, and pain leaks into my chest. My hands clench up into fists, nails biting into my skin.
“Are you alone?” I blurt out.
His brows come together. “Currently? Or in life?”
“Funny. I mean, do you have someone in your apartment right now?” Specifically, in your bedroom.
Eyes holding mine, he slowly shakes his head. “Nope. Just me here.”
“You sure?”
He glances over his shoulder before looking back at me. “Yep. You wanna check?” He steps aside, widening the door.
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
There’s a beat of silence. Then, another.
“Did you come here to just check if I was alone?”
“No.” Kinda. I brace myself, spine straightened, arms by my sides. “I came to tell you that I don’t want to see you anymore. Of course, I would never stop you from seeing Gigi. But I can’t be around you anymore. It’s not good for me. You’re not good for me. So, we need to figure something out regarding Gigi, whether it be Aunt Elle is there when you collect her or…I don’t know. But we need to figure out something because I don’t want to see you anymore.”
“Says the woman standing on my doorstep.”
“I came to tell you this.” I frown.
“You could have called me.”
True.
“Yeah, well, I’m not you. I don’t do my dumping over the phone.”
It’s his turn to frown. “I didn’t know we were together for you to dump me.”
“Look”—I hold a hand up, stopping us before we start—“I didn’t come here to verbally spar with you. I just came to tell you that we need to make other arrangements, so I don’t have to see you every day.”
I hear the chatter of people nearby, and I glance over my shoulder, but I don’t see anybody.
“Come inside,” Zeus tells me.
I don’t argue because I don’t want our business to be public knowledge.
I walk into his living room and stop by a wooden cabinet that has some of his boxing trophies on it. I turn around to face Zeus, who’s standing across the room from me. I lean my ass against the cabinet and wrap my arms over my chest.
“So, what do you say?” I ask.
“No.” He folds his arms over his huge chest, mirroring me.
“No?” I echo.
“That’s not going to work for me,” he says.
“What?” I blink.
He drops his arms and walks closer to me, lids lowering over his darkening eyes. “I said, that’s not going to work for me.”
“Well, this isn’t about you and what works for you!” I throw my arms up in the air. “It’s about me! And I thought you’d be happy that we wouldn’t have to see each other. You’ve been ignoring me since Disney World.”
“I didn’t handle it well. I was hurt. And I guess I thought that maybe, if I cold-shouldered you for a few days, it might make you realize a few things.”
“Like?”
“Like…you still love me. That you want to be with me.”
I realized that days ago. That’s not the problem.