That bitch!
I recognized her then. She was the hideous woman from the celebration ball, the one who treated me so rudely, and Calvin berated me for defending myself. It was her!
Holly wasn’t paying attention to what I’d just witnessed, but Rhett had clearly taken notice, as did Todd. They both gripped an arm as I stood from the couch.
“I’ll escort you home,” Rhett said.
“Or I can,” Todd added.
The daze I’d been in snapped, and I pulled at Holly’s arm, yelling at her to get the fuck up. My anger seemed to snap her out of the buzz she was in, bringing her to her feet.
Calvin was already down the stairs as Rhett held the front door open for Holly and me. I looked back at Todd, who lifted a hand, a sad smile on his face. I continued to walk out even though I heard Calvin’s calls and pleas for me to stop. He had embarrassed me enough. I was done with his games, done with his rejection. I was just done!
“Please, Whitney, it isn’t what it looked like,” Calvin yelled as he made his way outside.
Rhett was calling his driver as Calvin ran down the long drive to reach us. His hand gripped my arm, spun me around. His eyes looked as though they were filled with pain, but a part of me no longer cared. I was hurting too, and he was the one who hurt me.
“She bombarded me. I was trying to get away from her, I swear,” Calvin pleaded. “I would never do that to you, Whitney.”
I yanked my arm away. “Never?” I hissed. “This isn’t the first time I’ve caught you with a blonde slut. Remember?”
Holly gripped my arm and pulled me close to her side. I knew she hadn’t witnessed what actually happened, but she’d heard enough to figure out that Calvin was a piece of shit.
“I think it's best that you calm down, Calvin,” Rhett interjected, stepping between us. “I’ll see to it that the girls make it home safely.”
“I bet you will,” he snapped at Rhett. “I saw you making your move.”
I was mortified. “Oh, so now you have the balls to pretend to be jealous?” I yelled.
A long black Lincoln pulled up to the front of the drive, and the valet opened the back door. Rhett placed his hand on the small of my back and escorted me into the car and away from Calvin. Holly slipped in next to me and then Rhett.
“Watch yourself, Calvin, you’re playing with the big boys now,” Rhett warned and then shut the door.
My heart ached as we pulled away from him. I didn’t want to leave; I didn’t want any of this. Why couldn’t we just be us again? Holly pulled me close to her and stroked my hair while I sobbed. Rhett gave the driver instructions to Calvin’s apartment. Not mine, Calvin’s. I was leaving.
Rhett slid out of the car and let Holly and then myself out of the backseat. He reached for me, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me in close. That cologne still smelled so amazing that even during my most stressful time, it made my thoughts drift to sex.
“Thank you,” I said politely and worked my way out of his arms.
He pushed my hair back from my face. “If there’s anything you need, anything at all, just call me,” he said and handed me a card.
Holly was beside herself, trying to sort out everything that had just happened after Rhett pulled away. I gave her the play by play as I pulled my suitcase from the closet and started packing.
“All my stuff is at Ace’s,” she said. I didn’t have time to stress about her stuff. She knew Ace was a piece of shit womanizer. She came here knowing that.
“I just want to go home, Holly,” I said, barely able to get the words out. I jerked my clothes from the hangers and stuffed them into the large suitcase while Holly cleared out the drawers.
“What’s this?” she asked.
I turned to look at what she held. It was a small black box, velvet with gold writing. She opened it as I moved towards her, almost afraid of what was inside. Tears flooded my face and sobs belted from my throat as I stared at a beautiful diamond ring. I grabbed it from her and stared at it as I sat on the edge of the bed.
If he truly loved me enough to marry me, then why would he put me through all this?
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said, handing the ring back to Holly. “Put it back where you found it.”
I wiped my tears and zipped up the suitcase while Holly finished stuffing my things into the duffel. The front door sounded, and then Calvin was calling my name.
Holly took charge, pushing past Calvin to give me room to exit the bedroom and head toward the door. “She doesn’t want to talk to you, you lying cheating shit,” she hissed.
Calvin’s eyes were wild, and his hair was standing up in places as if he’d been pulling it out by the roots. “Whitney, please, I swear on my dad’s grave that nothing happened. She tried, but I stopped her.”
“Because you saw me,” I blurted out.
“No, I saw you before that. I was watching Rhett’s hand on your thigh and Morris hanging all over you, then she started attacking me,” he explained.
I laughed, a bark of sound that echoed through the room. “Yeah, do I look like a dumbass?”
Holly opened the front door and took my suitcase, handing me the smaller bag. She stood at the door while I took one last look at Calvin, then shut the door as I rushed out of the apartment and ran down the steps.
Where the fuck are all the cabs?
Calvin continued to plead his case while Holly called for a taxi. There were always cabs out here. Always! Why not now? I felt panic set in as I started to fall victim to his excuses.
What if I was wrong? What if what he told me was the truth?
Finally, a taxi pulled up to the curb after Holly waved like a lunatic to get his attention. He popped the trunk, and Holly tossed my suitcase inside and then my duffle. Calvin was crying, his voice hoarse from begging and pleading his case. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe I was making a mistake as I slid into the back seat. Holly pushed in beside me and slammed the door.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched Calvin fall to his knees on the sidewalk. My heart was broken.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Calvin
The night she left, I held the engagement ring in my hands, twirling it around on my pinky finger as I kicked myself in the ass for not giving it to her.
Why did I wait?
For the past month, I’d been asking myself that same question as I stared at the ceiling at night and did my best to focus on baseball during the day.
In the beginning, I hadn’t been successful.
My first time on the mound after Whitney walked out of my life, Coach pulled me after one inning, then had screamed at me until his face turned blood red and I thought the vein on his forehead would pop. I’d sucked and knew I needed to pull my shit together. After that day, my game was steady on the field.
My life, on the other hand, was total shit.