Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“The Brynn I know didn’t waste time getting to the point,” he said with a hint of a smile. He moved in closer so that his groin was practically in my face. He was referring to high school Brynn, the one who didn’t know a damn thing about sex and didn’t care about the consequences.
I huffed a laugh. “Things change, I suppose.” And they had. Though I was having a great time, I wasn’t so quick to drop my panties for anyone, even if they were my ex. Plus something about this entire night niggled at the back of my mind. A warning was more of what it was. If I crossed into this forbidden territory for him, there wouldn’t be any going back. This was a married man, which meant I would never come first to him and that did not sit well with me.
He stood. “Perhaps some music.” He fished his phone out of his pocket and went to the stand near the TV, where a speaker was plugged in. Once he’d connected the Bluetooth, Ginuwine played, and I wanted to throw up—not because of Ginuwine’s voice, but because the nostalgia struck the hell out of me. My vision blurred a bit as Dominic snapped his fingers to the beat then spun around to face me. He took a swig of his bourbon, then undid the top button of his shirt. “You remember this song?” he asked, chuckling.
“Of course, I do.” I forced a laugh. “Differences” by Ginuwine. It was a song we played on repeat while acting like horny teenagers in my bedroom whenever my mom worked third shift.
I couldn’t believe he was playing it. He truly was treating this like some high school reunion. Like, okay, I get it. We were high school lovers and all, but let’s not make this childish.
He approached me, bringing me to a stand and collecting me in his arms. I tried smiling and enjoying the moment, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, and I was pretty sure that was my own fault. I’d allowed the niggling in the back of my mind to swim to the forefront.
I couldn’t stop thinking about his damn wife and ever since reading those messages and seeing her photo, I only felt regret. While he was sitting next to me in the lounge, flirting and being charming, she’d been texting him all night. He hadn’t responded to any of her messages, and I figured that was a courtesy to me. He was married, and his wife assumed he was happy. She had no idea he was showering another woman with drinks and attention . . . or that he was now alone in a house with said woman.
I realized in that short moment in the lounge—when he’d run off to the bathroom and I filled myself with dirty knowledge—that he’d likely done this before. Found a woman he was interested in while away from his wife, paid for drinks, then took her to his rental or hotel room. I instantly felt shame and then pitied myself for ever coming here to meet him. It didn’t matter that I was his high school love. To him, I was just another woman he could get lucky with.
At first, I didn’t care that he was married because the wife was unknown. I had this stupid notion in my mind that I was there first, so he’d choose me. He’d fall for me again and leave her, whisk me into his life, ease my troubles, and give me everything I ever wanted. It was such a stupid idea to have because he’d been married to this woman for years, while he’d only known me for two while we were young. Plus, the way you get a man is exactly how you lose him. I of all people should’ve known that.
It’s so much easier to detach yourself from anonymous things because they don’t mean shit to you, but because I saw his wife’s face, because I saw how happy she was with him, how excited she was for him to come home so she could share a simple dinner with him, and how she supported his career, I realized I couldn’t be that person who sabotaged their marriage. Because at the end of the day, all Dominic would do is throw me under the bus to save his ass if he got caught and, frankly, I was worth more than that.
We’d already taken things too far by meeting at the lounge and even further by venturing to this fancy house to be alone. I would be ruining someone’s life because of my selfish decision to ignore that wedding band on his finger. It was almost like he wanted me to know he was married—like he knew it would make me want him more. Most men hide their rings, but not Dominic, and I couldn’t help wondering why.