Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
But we’re not, are we? We’re just stuck in whatever this is. Even after all the incredible times we’ve had, we’re still just in something casual or whatever.
And part of me wants to confront her about it. That might not be a great idea, but sitting around and waiting for her to realize she wants more from this relationship probably isn’t either.
“So, Sadie,” I say, “where does this no-relationship rule of yours come from anyway?”
My question takes her by surprise. Her eyes go wide, and she looks at me like she’s unsure what her next move should be.
“Jake, I—we shouldn’t be talking about this,” she finally says after what seems like ten minutes.
“We can’t even talk about it?” I ask.
“Talking about it feels like breaking the rule,” she replies.
The coffee is ready. I take Sadie’s mug from her hand and fill it for her. “Even after everything we did last night—after that little show you put on for me—you can’t even tell me a little?”
She frowns as she takes the mug back from me and inhales a deep breath of the steam. Her eyes light up, and she looks back at me.
“You buy good coffee,” she says.
“Damn right I do,” I reply. “Now come on, tell me something.”
Sadie sighs and leans back against the counter.
“Okay, well it all starts with that guy you met, Howard.”
33
Jake
Howard.
It’s hard to believe this all began with that miserable son of a bitch Howard. But if that’s what Sadie says, that’s the truth, and I’m ready to listen.
I take my own cup of coffee and fill it, then go lean against the counter across from her. She’s acting differently now than I’m used to. Normally she’s always cheery and playful, sometimes even teasing me. But right now, she’s just sort of standing there and looking down into her coffee cup like she’s thinking back into her past, memories of the things she’s about to tell me.
“Howard and I met when we were in high school,” she eventually says with a sigh. “I didn’t like him at first, but he had a crush on me, and he pursued me. I finally started going out with him junior year. But things were rocky, and we were always breaking up and getting back together. I hated it, but my friends kept telling me it was romantic.”
“Gotta love that great advice from the friends,” I say sarcastically. Sadie nods and almost laughs.
“Yeah. We ended up making it through senior year, prom, all that jazz. But we broke up right after when I realized there was more to life than high school drama.”
“Yeah, that happens,” I chuckle.
Sadie blows on her coffee and takes a delicate sip. “Then I dated a guy named Ron who cheated on me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I dated a guy named Tim who was cheating on his wife with me, and I didn’t know it until she came to my mom’s house to curse me out.”
I wince. “That had to be awkward.”
“Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Sadie replies. “I took a break from men, but then a couple of years later, Howard gets back in touch and wants to ‘catch up’ with me.”
“Ah, I see,” I laugh. “And you did?”
“I did.” She sighs again, shaking her head with obvious regret. “One thing led to another, and we got back together again.”
“He gotcha.” I smirk.
“He got me,” Sadie says angrily, looking like she’d enjoy tossing her coffee mug against the wall.
“And you figured that after these dickheads, Howard might not be so bad?” I ask.
Sadie nods and flicks a finger at me. “Exactly!”
“But that clearly wasn’t the case.”
She shrugs and kind of shakes her head. “It was at first. He played the goodie-two-shoes role and got me to fall for him. He proposed. Got me a beautiful ring and everything.”
Sadie takes another sip of her coffee. Her face is all red again. She looks ready to boil over.
“And then what happened?” I ask.
“Well, once we were married,” she says, her voice taut and filled with anger, “he emptied our joint savings account and ran off to Vegas with my best friend, Tiffany.”
And then it hits me.
Tell her Howard and Tiffany say hi, and that Tiffany’s pussy is way tighter than hers ever was…
“Because as it turns out,” Sadie continues, “Howard has a massive gambling problem. Even the ring he proposed to me with was a fake.”
The weight of what Sadie just told me hits me like I’ve gone through it all with her. I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and protect her from all these men who have hurt her. Especially Howard.
“Jesus, Sadie.” I shake my head and go stand beside her. “I’m so sorry.”
She takes a sip of her coffee and looks up at me, her eyes watery from the tears starting to form.