“It was three,” Chance said.
Jolene stiffened. He wasn’t even looking at her, and he sounded blasé, unconcerned, as he played with a couple chords, his hair in his eyes. “I thought there was only Dixie,” she said, wondering who in the hell the other two were.
He shrugged. “I got bored and I was trying to prove something.”
“That you’re a gigantic ass?” she snapped. “Why would you do that? And why would you tell me?”
“Well, how many guys did you hook up with?”
That voice. It was deceptively calm. Jolene knew better. Chance was on the edge of explosion. One little pinky push and he would fall over. She was just angry enough and, okay, hurt enough that she wanted to do it. She wanted to do it so bad. But that was their former pattern. She shouldn’t give in to the urge, despite the fact that she was embarrassed and jealous, thinking about him with other women.
Then he said, “It was Mike, wasn’t it?”
She lost it. “You think I slept with our drummer? He’s married! Screw you, Rivers. I would never do such a thing, and you know it. For your information, my number is point five.”
“Point five? What the fuck does that mean? Was he short?” He looked mystified and angry.
“It means no penetration, that’s what it means.” She should have kept her mouth shut, but there was no stopping a speeding train.
Tennyson’s eyes widened.
Chance’s jaw dropped open. “Oh.” Then he started grinning. “Oh. So you didn’t have actual sex with anyone? Was he just a chump, or did you stop him before you went all the way? That’s very high school of you. But nice to hear.”
“Nice for you to hear! I still have to visualize you in bed with three different women. Thanks. Thanks a lot.” She stood up and went into the house, slamming every door she possibly could on the way.
—
Chance had never thought of himself as offensive, but as he watched Jolene tear off into the house, he realized there was no other label for what he had done. He had fallen into a trap, and he knew better. He really did. There was no reason he ever should have participated in Tennyson’s little quest for raw emotion.
He didn’t want to hurt Jolene, and that was precisely what he had done. He had been so blinded by jealousy, picturing her with another man, that he hadn’t stopped to think about how she would feel about his confession. It had been a total dick move, and he felt like the gigantic ass she had called him.
“I need to go in there and apologize,” he told Tennyson. “Just give me a minute.”
“Why don’t you let me talk to her.”
That struck terror in his heart. “That is not a good idea.”
“No, seriously, woman to woman. We can talk about what a prick you are.” She gave him a grin.
“Great. How could I say no to that?” He shook his head. “Seriously, it’s not a good idea.”
Tennyson laughed. “This is my fault, so let me fix it. And ten bucks says I come out with a chorus for a killer song.” She winked at him and stood up.
That was highly doubtful. “I’ll give you double that if you come out with anything other than a black eye.”
“Deal.” She stood up lithely and strolled into his house like she owned it. If he wasn’t careful, she might. He debated following her, stopping any sort of conversation, but wasn’t sure if that would throw fuel on the fire or not.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. It was his friend Dane. Chance hadn’t talked to him in at least a week. He swiped the screen. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Nothing in my life. I’m still with the same woman, still have a two-year-old son who still likes to bite my ear. Still working in the studio. But it seems to me a thing or two has changed in your world, my friend. Want to tell me what the hell is going on over there? You stupid enough to go back into the ring with Jolene?”
“It would seem so.” Chance reached for his sweet tea and took a sip. “Go ahead, give me a bunch of crap about it. I’d do the same thing to you.”
“You’re going to get knocked out, you know that, right? She’s going to chew you up and spit you out. And I’m going to laugh.”
“Thanks, that’s nice of you. Asshole.”
Dane laughed. “You know you can always count on me to razz you. But seriously, watch your step. You can’t go copping attitude with the media, man.”
“The media can suck my dick.” Chance meant that most sincerely.
“I bet they’ll be lining up to do that. Not.” Dane paused. “Hey, uh, have you seen your grandfather lately? I saw him last night. He’s not looking so good.”
“Why, was he drunk? Sticking his tongue in some chick’s ear?” Buddy was, after all, the tree from which Buck had fallen. They were virtually the same man.