“Seriously, Reed,” Mia snaps, looking over my shoulder. “That was really rude. I think you hurt her feelings.”
“Because I don’t want CJ hanging all over her? Why the fuck is she even here?”
CJ stands from the table. “What is your problem, asshole?” He moves to follow after Beth.
Fuck that.
I get up in his face. “If anyone’s going after her, it’s going to be me. Sit the fuck back down and make sure everyone else knows what a trick is, since you’re so willing to help.”
“You know what, Reed? I’ve never had a problem with you, but right now, I’m real close to knocking your ass out.”
Ben’s at my back. “CJ, let him go after her. He’s the one who needs to apologize.”
“Nobody’s knocking anyone out.” Mia gets up from the table and pulls against CJ’s arm. “I just mopped the floor this morning.”
“I told you women this was a bad idea,” Luke says from his seat at the table. He leans back and takes a swig of his beer, then frowns at Tessa. “You get off on his misery, babe. It’s kinda fucked up.”
Tessa waves him off. “I do not. I’m helping Reed. He just doesn’t realize it yet.”
Ben steps back and allows me to pass. I look over at Tessa. “You’re helping me? How is this helping me?”
She says something behind my back as I exit the kitchen, but I don’t hear it. It probably doesn’t make sense anyway. Whatever the hell her and Mia were trying to achieve with this clusterfuck of an evening, I’ll never understand.
I’m ready to punch a cop. Beth’s hiding somewhere in the house.
I fucking hate game night.
Heading upstairs after checking the first floor, I notice the light shining underneath the bathroom door at the end of the hallway. I knock on it gently.
“Beth?”
She sniffles, then clears her throat. “Hold on. I’ll be out in a second.”
Fuck. She’s crying. I made her cry—again.
I take a step back and stare at the door, counting to five before my hand forms to the knob. Another five before I’m testing to see if it’s locked. It isn’t.
“Hey.” I step into the bathroom and push the door shut behind me. Her head snaps up from her hands. “Beth, look I’m . . .”
The biggest dickhead on the planet.
Her eyes are glistening with tears, a few wetting her cheeks. She quickly stands from the stool she’s sitting on and wipes at her face. “I’m so sorry I’m here. I had no idea you were coming tonight.”
I move closer, shaking my head. “Stop. I didn’t come in here to get an apology from you. You don’t owe me one, okay? I’m the asshole. I’m the one who needs to make this better.”
She stares up into my eyes. “Make what better?”
“Us.”
“There’s an us?”
“I think there was an us. Up until you left my house the other day crying, I think we were . . . something. Am I completely off here?”
Her nose wrinkles as she sniffs. She blinks up at me, looking at my mouth, my nose, above my eyes.
I wipe my hand across her cheek, brushing away a tear. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t handle that shit downstairs. I’ve been jealous twice in my entire life and both times have been with you. It’s confusing. I don’t know how to deal with it. And the past couple days,” I force my hand down when I realize it’s traveled to her neck. “Fuck, Beth. The past couple days have been really fucking awful. Why didn’t you call me back? Did you get my message?”
After a brief hesitation, she nods. “No, I did. I got it.” She sniffs again. “I just didn’t know what to say. It was really embarrassing when you didn’t remember what happened between us. I feel like I took advantage of you.”
I smirk.
She fights a smile, then shoves against my chest.
“Stop. It was, Reed. What did you expect me to do? Call you back and go over every detail of what we did?”
“That would’ve been awesome.” I grab her waist and lift her so she’s sitting on the edge of the sink. She gasps against my neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Cleaning you up. You have black stuff on your face.” I cup her cheeks when she tries to look in the mirror behind her. She stares up at me, lips parting. “I got it. I made you cry. Let me do it.”
She relaxes against my hands. “Okay.”
Reaching behind her, I grab a few tissues out of the box on the sink. I wipe them along her skin. “And you wouldn’t have to tell me every detail. I am remembering some of it.”
“You are?”
Our eyes lock. Her breath suddenly blowing out faster against my hand.