She jerks her car over to the side of the street where Xavier is standing, bumping her tire on the curb in the process.
Quinn turns to me. “Are you going to kill him, or do I get the pleasure? Don’t let him get away with that shit, Anna, or so help me, I will revoke your lady nuggets.”
“Oh, I’ve got this one.” I fling open the car door. “Keep the motor running.”
“Will do,” Quinn says.
I hop out and march in Xavier’s direction. My heart thunders in my chest as adrenaline flows through my veins. A million things I want to scream at him pop into my mind as I head right for him. I take in a shaky breath when I pass the girl who just kissed my man hops into a white Mercedes.
Who in the hell is she?
Xavier immediately holds up his hands in surrender, and I can tell by the shock on his face that he didn’t expect to see me here. “Anna . . . it’s not what it looks like.”
“Save it. I know what I saw. You kissed her!” Tears burn my eyes as betrayal rocks through me.
Flashbacks of the night when Deena was strutting around Xavier’s hotel room in nothing but some lingerie flip through my head. He hurt me once. What’s stopping him from going behind my back again to sleep with someone else?
I swat the tears away as my stare bores into him, waiting on his explanation for allowing another woman to kiss him. Xavier reaches for me, but I smack his hands away.
“No. Don’t touch me. Explain yourself.”
His crystal-blue eyes soften. “Anna, please, calm down.”
“Oh my God. This is her? How do you even put up with it?”
I whip around to find the source of the female voice bashing me, and my eyes land on the gorgeous Latina woman who I saw with him moments ago.
She is standing between the open driver’s door and the car as she focuses her gaze in our direction. “Seriously, X, what do you see in her?”
Pain from the truth of her words slices through me. Many times, I’ve questioned what he sees in me when he can obviously have any woman he wants.
“Get back in the car, Angie,” Xavier orders. When she doesn’t move to follow his order, he adds, “Now.”
Angie shrugs. “I think I would rather stay here and watch you talk your way out of our kiss to your little girlfriend.”
“We didn’t fucking kiss,” he fires back at her. “You kissed me. It’s not the same thing.”
A wicked smile crosses her face. “You didn’t exactly tell me no either. If this girl is going to be with you, she should learn that you’re not exactly a one-woman kind of guy.”
“Shut up, Angie. This doesn’t fucking concern you.”
I flinch at his tone. It’s the same tone he took with Deena. Is this how he treats a woman when he’s done with her? Will he treat me that way one day?
“Fine,” Angie sighs. Then, she flips her long dark hair over her shoulder. “But if you change your mind about my offer from earlier, you know where to find me.” With that, she slips into her car, slams the door, and pulls out onto the street.
I stare up at Xavier and fold my arms. “Another old friend?”
“Don’t worry about her,” he replies without a speck of emotion on his face. Then, he reaches for me, but I step back before he can touch me. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
I lift my chin. “No. I’m not going anywhere until you explain to me how you ended up standing on a sidewalk, kissing some old girlfriend.”
“She was never my girlfriend.”
“Then, just another girl you made a special arrangement with, like Deena?”
“Something like that.”
“Will that be me someday—just some other woman you once had a fuck-buddy relationship with?”
He scrubs his hand down his face. “How many times do I have to explain to you that you’re different? You’re nothing like the women I’ve been with before.”
“How do I know you didn’t feed them the same lines you’ve been feeding me? I won’t be able to handle you breaking my heart, Xavier.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Then, explain to me why you were with her,” I demand, wanting the full truth from him.
His face twists and I can tell he’s holding something back from me.
“I can’t do that,” he says.
My heart crumbles, and I clutch my chest in an attempt to hold it together. “If you keep things from me, how am I supposed to ever trust you?”
“There are some things you don’t need to know, beautiful,” he answers coolly. “Just be satisfied with what I can tell you.”
I square my shoulders. “That’s not good enough.”
Seeing that I’m not getting anywhere with this, I take a few steps away from him, toward Quinn’s car. “Come find me when you feel like telling me the truth.”
He stands there with a blank expression, but makes no attempts to chase after me.
Devastated, I turn and race to the Honda, not daring to look back.
I close myself inside. “Drive.”
She doesn’t question me, just shoves the transmission into gear and slams on the gas.
“Holy shit. What happened back there?” she asks.
I rest my head in my hand. “I’m not even sure.”