Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Porter had warned me too, when he said, “all men are dogs.” I thought he was just exaggerating or being overprotective, but he had been speaking the truth. I remembered that crazy hot moment in the kitchen, leaning over the sink. He had been so aggressive, and I had misinterpreted it to mean that he couldn’t keep his hands off me. In reality, he had been taking one more spin around the block before bailing on me.
It was a last-ditch effort to get some tail when he knew he would be in for a dry spell. That logic was what bothered me most, that he had been so calculating. He could have broken it off before breakfast or before we slept together the night before.
It had been abrupt, and I was ashamed. I wondered what I had done to deserve this treatment. I thought things were going well. He had accepted another invitation to Gina’s house, and we had been each other’s steady lunch date for almost a month. There wasn’t any warning before he ripped my heart out and stomped on it. Being used so carelessly only moments before the agony was the final straw. I didn’t care if I ever saw him again.
Luckily, we didn’t run into each other at work. I was in the office and he was in the barn or out on deliveries. I deleted his contact from my phone and the text thread, as well as the two selfies we had taken together. It was Friday, and I was determined not to spend the night thinking about Linc at all.
I called Gina on my lunch break to fill her in. “Linc broke up with me.”
“What?” Her voice broke. “When?”
“This morning, before I drove him to work.” I wanted to get the whole story out before I lost my nerve.
“Slow down,” she said. “You drove him to work?”
“He spent the night at my place.”
“What?”
I sighed. “Can we go out tonight?”
“Of course,” she agreed. “Tell Porter I’ll call him as soon as I can. I’ll pick Seth up and meet him at home.”
“Thanks.” It was going to take more than a phone call to explain what had happened. At least I had secured a sympathetic ear for the night’s festivities, so I had something to look forward to. Why then did I feel worse than ever, as if by talking about it, I was going to make it real?
Porter had found me crying, and before I could wipe my tears away, he planted himself in front of my desk, the picture of concern. “What happened? Was it Linc?”
I nodded helplessly. I had to get a hold of myself. Crying in the office wasn’t professional. “He broke up with me.”
Porter’s face had darkened, and he stormed out of the house. I watched him go, lacking the energy to stop him. Some part of me rejoiced in the tongue lashing that Linc was about to receive. If you couldn’t count on your friends to chew out your ex, then what good were they? I hoped that Porter would make Linc feel as bad as I did.
When Porter returned, he had little to say. I didn’t ask him how it had gone. I didn’t want to know. “I’m going out with Gina tonight.”
“Good,” he replied. “I’ll give her a call.”
“She said she would pick up Seth and meet you at home.”
“Okay.” He made a move to go upstairs and then paused. “I don’t feel any loyalty to Linc to keep his secrets, so I’m just going to be honest. He told me he was frightened of commitment.”
I sniffed and nodded. I wasn’t surprised, though I wasn’t sure when I had ever asked him to make a commitment. All that stuff about having his baby was just a fantasy for the future. Sure, he had looked hot when he was holding Seth, but I hadn’t said anything about it.
And maybe I had been hoping that we could make a family for ourselves someday, but I wasn’t trying to trap him. He did his part only too willingly. I didn’t think it was the baby that scared him but the idea of marriage and settling down. If that was the case, then good riddance.
I went home after work and changed into my most bombshell outfit. It was a tight miniskirt with a halter top. I didn’t even know why I owned it, except that every woman deserved to have one ensemble that made her feel sexy. Maybe I had bought it in a fit of despair over my last dating disaster.
I found it in the back of my closet and wriggled into it, brushing my hair out in the mirror. I felt better already. If Linc could take advantage of me, then I could damn well find another guy to do the same.