“Wow, harsh much?”
She rolls her eyes. “Dude, come on, I don’t call you ‘slut’ just because you’re prettier and thinner than me. You and I both know, until you met Savage, you only had one use for men—good, old fashion, sweaty, dirty, nasty-as-hell sex!”
I cringe.
She isn’t wrong.
I made my mind up long ago that men were put on this Earth to pleasure me, period. I was never one of those girls who needed to be wined and dined. Frankly, you were much more likely to get laid walking up to me at a bar and asking me to fuck than if you spent hours schmoozing me and making me feel like a princess.
My stomach churns and bile rises in my throat. Would I have used Savage as just a fuck buddy? Would I have had mind-blowing sex and walked away without looking back if it had been an option from the beginning?
“Shit.” I scrub my hands over my face and reach for my glass, downing the rest. “I guess I wasn’t exactly looking for love and a white picket fence. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t love him.”
“Honey, I just want you to be happy. Savage is a great guy, but, this is your first real relationship, and, sometimes I wonder if you subconsciously see him as some kind of project, something to fix?”
“Fuck you, Caroline, how can you honestly think that?”
She holds her hands up and backs away from me on the couch. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate, Dani, take it or leave it. Just be sure you know what you are doing before you sit here and pine for someone who may never be able to give you what you need.”
“You have no idea what I need, Caroline. How could you? I didn’t even know I needed it until I met Savage.”
I stare at the empty pizza box and beer bottles on the coffee table and my stomach churns, already revolting against the cheesy goodness and empty calories I scarfed down. Gabe reclines next to me on the couch, flipping aimlessly through channels, just like he has been for the last two hours, with Princess snuggled on his lap.
Glancing at my phone, I groan when I see twenty-three missed calls. I scroll through the call log and I’m not surprised to see most of them are from Skye—one from my mom, one from Storm, but the other twenty-one, all Skye. I knew she didn’t believe a word I said when we spoke earlier today. I’ve never been a good liar, and Skye can see through bullshit better than anyone I’ve ever met, probably because she’s so good at spewing it herself.
Twenty-three fucking calls and none of them are from Dani. The churning storm starts again in my stomach.
I just couldn’t bear family dinner tonight. Everyone would be asking about Danika, wondering why she didn’t come along again, and, as aforementioned, I’m a shitty liar.
Gabe stops on Naked and Afraid. It appears this week’s participants are fulfilling their death wishes in Uganda. Why anyone would want to put themselves, or their bodies, through this for twenty-one days is beyond me, but it does make for entertaining television.
Groaning and stretching his arms back, Gabe glances over at me and frowns before dropping his hands back onto his lap and petting Princess. “Are you going to sit there and mope all night?”
“Probably.”
He sighs and rolls his eyes. “Seriously, dude, just fucking call her!”
“And say what? Sorry I had a meltdown and ignored you when you told me you loved me?”
He cracks a smile and shrugs. “Well, maybe not in those words.”
“That’s the point. I have no idea what the hell to say, how to explain any of it, when I don’t even understand it.”
Gabe stares at me, and I can tell he wants to say something more, but instead, he hands Princess off to me and stands, grabbing the pizza box and piling the empty beer bottles into it.
“Where are you going?” I ask him, turning to watch him disappear into the kitchen and re-emerge sans garbage.
He pauses at the door, his back to me. He looks like he’s contemplating something. It isn’t like Gabe not to just say whatever is on his mind, and, quite frankly, it’s disconcerting.
Glancing over his shoulder at me, he offers me a half-smile and opens the door. “I have something I need to take care of tonight, before it gets too late.”
He’s lying. I know it, and he knows I know it. But, I don’t call him on it. Whatever is on his mind, he doesn’t want to share it, so I will give him his space. “See ya tomorrow, then.” He waves over his shoulder and disappears into the hallway.
Princess stands on my lap, looking up at me expectantly. “What do you want?” She jumps down next to me on the couch and slips under my hand. “You want me to pet you? You women are so demanding.”