“Why would Nicole think Ashley would call you?” I twirled the ring on my finger.
“Couldn’t fucking tell you.” He caught my eye, “Don’t fuck with that ring. There’s nothing to worry about. Ashley hasn’t been a part of my life for years, Jada. I haven’t seen her since before my dad died. I’ve talked to her a few times off and on after that, but fuck, I don’t even know when the last time was.”
I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.
“So there’s no story there? Nothing for me to get all crazy jealous about?”
He pulled up to a large stone building with “Alexander Industries” written across the front in large blue letters, the awnings covering the parking spots were a blue metal that matched the letters. It was a very masculine structure—large, sturdy looking—exactly like Cane.
“Nope,” he said, gazing seductively at me as he whipped the Denali into a parking spot next to a side door. A silver and blue sign labeled “Mr. Alexander” was at the front of the spot. “The only thing you need to be crazy about is me. And I believe you promised me dessert and I don’t want to have to wait until I get home to eat it.”
JADA
“I don’t know, Heather. He’s just busy all the time. And when I do get to spend time with him, he’s so preoccupied.” I sighed into the phone, watching the Moscato swirl around in my glass in time with the ceiling fan.
I was supposed to be seeing a movie with Cane, but he had been called away at the last second with little explanation.
Again.
“Well, maybe he is just busy. It doesn’t seem to be anything to really get yourself worked up over.”
I gave the wine a final swoosh before sitting the glass down with a clink. “This is how the end began with Decker. There was a slow pull away then, too.”
“Don’t,” Heather said and I knew she was rolling her eyes. “Don’t even go there. Decker was a complete douchebag and, from what you’ve said about Cane, he’s done nothing douchey. Comparing anyone to Decker is like comparing them to Satan. So let’s keep things in perspective, shall we?”
I laughed, relaxing back into the turquoise throw pillows on Kari’s couch. “I see your point. It’s just that this whole thing with Cane has happened so fast. One day I was saying that I would never be with a guy like him. And, before I know it, he’s staying the night.”
I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, replaying my relationship with Cane back through my mind. Things had happened so quickly just like I knew they would. From the moment I saw him, I knew he was going to be a drug to my bad boy addiction. But like a true addict, I couldn’t help myself and I needed to make sure I had control of the situation before I was in too far to save myself.
“I just want to make sure I’m seeing things for what they are, not what I want them to be. I don’t want to get so lost in this relationship that I end up being a fool like before.”
“Totally understandable,” Heather said. “But at the same time, you have to evaluate each person for who they are, not for what the guy before them did.”
“I know. But the same little things are starting to happen. At what point is it okay for me to let my panic take over?” I chewed on a fingernail.
“Never. Panic is not a good look, Jada.” Heather cleared her throat. “I wish I was there to take you for coffee and a movie, but I’m not. You just need to relax a little, give it some time. If things don’t change and you aren’t happy in a few weeks, then by all means … kick him to the curb. But from where I’m sitting, he seems like a good guy and you are just letting your raging insecurities get the better of you.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
I smiled to myself. Heather got me in a way that no one else really did. Her way of cutting through the crap and just telling me what I needed to hear could be painful, but if it was what I needed, she would lay it out there.
“You know, he hasn’t even said he loves me, Heather.” I shrugged to myself. “Maybe I feel more than he does.”
“That could be good or bad. I mean, maybe you are right. Maybe you are into him way more than he is into you,” she said, her tone matter of fact.
My heart dropped at her admission, a huge dose of sadness swamped me and took me under. That was my biggest fear … that this relationship was predominantly a one-way street and that one way was leading to Heart Break City for me.
“Or,” she emphasized, “maybe it’s not a word he just throws around, you know? It could be that he’s just saving it for the right time.”
I took a sip of my wine, shaking my head. “Why can’t you ever just say what I want to hear?”
Heather chuckled. “Because I’m a good friend. You know better than to ask me shit if you don’t want my real answer. There’s no sugar coating here.”
“Thanks,” I said, half sarcastically.