Stopping at the nearest bar, I headed in, desperate for a drink. My head was spinning with thoughts, and I just didn’t want to think about that guy’s hand on her back, or how perfect the three of them looked together. I didn’t want to think about how the little boy in the bed had the exact same shade of reddish-brown hair that Ashley had. I just couldn’t help but feel angry. Everything about the last three weeks had been perfect. It was just typical that something had to come along and spoil it. The one girl I actually really start to like, and it turned out she was a complete liar and a cheat. It was different when I thought that she was just cheating on a boyfriend because that kind of thing happened everyday, so it didn’t feel as low. But the thought of her being married, having a child, and using me for a little excitement because her life was probably boring, the fact that if this had carried on I might have broken up a family and home, those thoughts made me feel a littl
“Sorry, Minnie, it’s my fault. I’ll stop talking about her now, but you need to stop bringing her up too,” I accused, waving for the barman again. She laughed and raised one questioning eyebrow. “Minnie?” Ah, fuck it; she noticed my reference to the screechy cartoon mouse. I grasped desperately at something that wasn’t to do with the fact that every time she opened her mouth all the cats in LA sat up and looked around for their next meal. Suddenly an idea hit me. “Yeah Minnie, like the little mouse,” I confirmed. “Because you’re so cute I just want to pick you up and put you in my pocket and carry you around all day.” I shrugged, chuckling into my glass, causing whiskey to slop out over the side and onto the bar. “Aww, that’s kinda sweet. No one’s ever called me that before.” She smiled happily which made me laugh even harder. She smiled seductively. “So, I was thinking… this girl’s hurt you, right?” she asked, stepping closer to me. I resisted the urge to s
I felt sick; DJ was clearly in pain and I could do nothing about it. I turned to Josh. “What happened?” I snapped accusingly. He frowned angrily. “Don’t you dare blame me for this. This isn’t my fault! He was jumping on the bed, I’d told him not to do it, but he carried on and then fell off,” he retorted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. I groaned. DJ did like to jump on beds, and I’d told him time and time again not to do it, I couldn’t really blame Josh for this. “Okay, sorry.” His face softened as he looked at me apologetically. “It’s alright. I’m sorry I had to call you away from your date.” Holy fudge balls, my date! I turned back to Jace, knowing that he must be wondering what on earth was going on. I hadn’t told him about DJ yet so hearing him call me Momma would have knocked him for six. But as I turned, I noticed that he wasn’t there. My eyes widened. Had he seen DJ, heard him call me Momma, and then left? The air left my lungs quickly. O
I sighed, knowing I deserved his anger. “I’m really sorry. I should have told you, but I just… I don’t know… it was nice for a little while to have you look at me. I swear I didn’t mean to mislead you or anything, but I liked having your attention. I guess I knew that as soon as you found out about DJ that you’d run a mile. I’m sorry, Jace. I was going to tell you though, I swear. Next week.” I rested my forehead on the table. I actually wanted to cry, but I wouldn’t let myself, I had only known him for three weeks; it was nothing serious, so I shouldn’t be upset about it. “So your husband doesn’t treat you nice any more, doesn’t take you out, so you just decided to go have a little fun with a new guy? Screw him and screw family?” Jace replied acidly. Screw family? Is he kidding me right now? How dare he just assume things about me and my family! “Jace, you need to chill out. I know I didn’t tell you about DJ, but don't you dare start assuming anything about my fam
As soon as I disconnected the call I tossed my phone onto the table, putting my head in my hands. I’d jumped to conclusions last night, and now I was going to pay for it. I'd honestly thought she was with that guy, they looked like a proper little family at the hospital, and in my defence she even told me she had a man. So what was I supposed to think? I breathed out heavily and sat back on the sofa. I’d screwed up. She was so incredible, and I’d just blown all chances that I had with her. I didn’t care that she had a son. I didn’t care that she hadn’t told me. She’d probably thought it would scare me away. Never in my wildest dreams had I even thought about dating a woman who had kids, but now that I knew Ashley had one, I couldn’t bring myself to stop wanting her. She interested me. I wanted to talk to her about my day and hear about hers. I wanted to be the one she called if she got scared or needed a favour;I just plain old wanted her. So she had a kid, which w
Seth literally choked and sprayed Gatorade everywhere; I just managed to jump back in time so it didn’t go all over me. “Dude, what the hell? That was gross!” I cried, looking at the drink all over the counter as I brushed a couple of spatters off my shirt. He didn’t answer, just looked at me with wide eyes as he wiped his chin with the back of one hand. “She has a kid? What the hell? How? Who? But… but… how?” he asked, looking at me in disbelief. “If you don’t know how by now, then I can’t help you, buddy, because you’ve been doing it wrong for a lot of years.” He frowned and shook his head. “Seriously, Jace, how?” I didn’t know how, exactly. “Some guy got her pregnant when she was younger, I guess. She’s not with him now; she’s on her own with the kid.” “So what did you say when she told you? Shit, man, I would have run out of there so fast you wouldn’t even see me go, it would have been like one of those cartoons where all you see is the dust that was le
My heart was racing as I stood outside her door with my hand raised and my finger poised over the button for her apartment. “Shit, please let this work out,” I whispered, rubbing a hand over my face, trying to calm my nerves. I glanced at my watch again. 19:54. I had been standing here for the last eight minutes trying to summon up the courage to press the buzzer and see her. I forced my finger down onto the button, fighting the sudden urge to run away and do this over the phone instead. That way I wouldn't have to see that look in her eyes when she found out I was a lying, good for nothing player, just like she’d first thought. “Hello?” I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Damn it, Jace! I slapped my palm against my forehead and squeezed my eyes shut. “Hey, Ashley, it’s Jace,” I mumbled, my voice tight. “Hey… er… Come on up.” When the front door lock clicked, I pushed it open and stumbled my way up the stairs, shifting the flowers that I’d bought from one
I frowned; she didn’t even look angry, just disappointed, and that actually made it even worse. I would rather her shout and scream at me rather than being all calm and collected about it. Clearly she’d been expecting something like this to happen anyway. By the looks of her tough exterior, she was over it already, over me already. But the tiny twitch to her eye told me that this was mostly just an act and that she was hurting inside. “Ashley, please. I know I’ve done wrong, and it doesn’t matter that we weren’t exclusive, I shouldn’t have done it.” She nodded. “You’re right, you shouldn’t have, but it’s done now. Just leave and we’ll agree to be friends. We never started anything; not really, so we’ll just forget it happened for the sake of our best friends. I don’t want things to be awkward around them, and we’re bound to run into each other now and again.” “Why can’t we try and talk it through?” I asked. I couldn’t walk out of her place without making this right, I