I’d smack it away and tell him to not touch me, but I’d play his game. Because, bitch, I’m a winner of all things.
A tear slipped past my eyes. It’d be a lot more if I were alone at this moment.
“I know.” I grimaced, hating the weakness and tremor in my voice. “But regardless of his misdoings, he’s no better than you. Seems like neither of you can stay away from that cum dumpster,” I growled, turning heel.
Ho, ho, ho, Santa said to Felicity.
I drove straight home. I really needed to get the fuck out of this place. What kind of fuckery is he trying to pull? Assholes were infesting the parts of my life that I held sacred.
When I arrived, Stace noticed the heat in my eyes, the I’m-going-to-burn-your-fucking-house-down-kind.
“Should I even ask?” Her small features were shying away from confrontation, which was very un-Stacy-like.
“Coen got back with the skanky blonde. Carl was kind enough to prove it.” My saccharine tone made her mouth drop. She probably didn’t know how to respond to Coen.
“He wouldn’t do that.” Her hand resting on her chin in thought. “I swear I couldn’t see that. I’m sorry babes,” Stace crooned, bringing me in for a hug.
At this point, my tears were welcome, and the shakes my body let out only furthered the heartbreak.
“Did he ever love me?” I begged for an answer, needing this whole thing to be a fake.
Stace continued hugging me, telling me that everything would be all right. Maybe I had to be a bitch like the rest and fuck my way to happiness. Maybe then, I’ll be able to find true love in all the wrong places.
Let the Dating Games truly begin.
19
Shooting Daggers
Dating a BMX rider rule #81: Save a tree, ride a biker.
Coen
“She’s done, Coen. You should probably stop calling her.” Stace sighed on the other end of the phone call.
“I fucking love her, Stace,” I growled, unsure of where to go from here.
Stacy called me, informing me that Felicity and Carl pulled a scheme to mess everything up. Rebel ignored me, and I didn’t even get the chance to plead my case with her. It wasn’t my truth, and I’d never give up on what we had. Hell, she refused to answer my calls or acknowledge my existence, but that wouldn’t stop me from pursuing our future.
“I know you love her, but give her time. How do you think she is supposed to feel?” she pleaded.
What about me? How about how I feel? Felicity practically attacked me while I’d been in a drugged-out state. I couldn’t control her. She was batshit crazy.
“Can you at least tell me her next few book events for the year?” The request left my mouth before thinking better of it.
“Hmm, why?” she enunciated the question slowly, not like I was stupid, more from intrigue.
This is bad, retreat!
“Just go with it.” I laughed.
“I’m sort of interested in your answer…” she paused, more than likely tapping her chin thoughtfully. She always did that when we were kids. “We have a few more the next three months. A cruise, one in Dallas, and one in Vegas. I probably shouldn’t tell you this. She just had an incident with a stalker, she might think you’re doing the same.”
“It’s not the same thing, Stace.”
“Fine, but don’t you dare hurt her again. I’ll castrate you and feed you your own balls,” she warned. I could feel her threat in my nether regions. It made me cringe from her threat.
“I won’t.”
Rebel had pointed out that her book characters needed motivation, and I could be just that.
“When’s the cruise?” I interrupted Stace while she babbled on about the events and not hurting Rebel.
“Two weeks from tomorrow.”
“Perfect. Message me the itinerary and all the information I’ll need. Don’t tell Red,” I demanded. I ran a hand through my tousled hair.
“Sure thing, but tell me what you have planned first.”
“I’m going to win my girl back.” There’s nothing I wanted more than to have her in my life. This would be a long fucking two weeks.
“Don’t think you’re getting away with—”
Cutting the phone call before she could ask more information, I ran a hand through my hair once again and stalked my closet. Felicity had never made me nervous like Red, and now I pushed my fingers through my hair often.
I still had a brace on my knee and looked like a gimp. I’d be a gimp on a mission to get my girl. After sifting through everything, I pulled out a ton of shirts, cargo shorts, swim trunks, and my lucky jeans. When you undid the zipper, it said, “Lucky you.” My only wish was that she’d find it as hilarious as I did.
My bag didn’t take long to pack, but I’d need Conor’s help for the next step in this wild journey. He’d know what to do and how exactly to do it.
Rebel
A week passed and I finally felt okay. Jacob was arrested, locked away, and that gave me some reprieve. I wasn’t as scared knowing he couldn’t make bail. After some nudging, I decided to give the speed dating another opportunity. To pretend my life didn’t fall apart at the last one.
Stace and I were headed out of town for the new one. We sang for a while, enjoying the craziness that was us.
“Speed dating round two,” Stace announced upon our arrival at this club. I didn’t feel comfortable yet, but I had to get out of my house.
We walked inside and got seated. The rounds started and Stacy smiled at me encouragingly.
“What’s your name?” the burly man asked me with interest written all over his face.
I attempted not to laugh. We all wore name tags. My giggle tore through, I held my stomach from the absurdity of his question.
“Ah, right. Sorry, this is my first attempt at this.” His embarrassed tone and face only made me smile more.
Ryan, so his name tag said, was simply charming in the goofiest way. He wore Harry Potter-like glasses, which only made him cuter. His chestnut brown hair and ocean blue eyes did me in. On the side of his face sat a dimple, not very noticeable but adorable nonetheless. His smile made my insides flip a little like when you had a crush in school or got caught crushing on a boy.
I brushed my hand over his reassuringly. “I’m Rebel. I’m new but not a first timer.”
His smile only grew, and I felt at ease for the first time since Carl showed me those photos. “I’m Ryan.” He paused to point at his name tag. “I’m a teacher.”
I loved when they cut to the chase but feared their mind wasn’t on getting to know the person, but rather sticking their Flag Pole into my holder.
“I’m an author,” I started but didn’t elaborate. Since the whole speed dating thing, I couldn’t sit by and boast about my job, not when they could be stalkers too.
“Oh, uh…” He couldn’t finish his thought, his cheeks only getting redder. “That is quite the talent.”
Ryan’s lip biting intrigued me. Did he have a question? Was he too scared to ask?
“What’s on your mind, Ryan?” I pushed a little.