I ignored him. He didn’t care about the rest of the team, he cared about himself, and even if I’d quit, he never would have been quarterback. He didn’t have the strength, coordination, or focus. Not to mention the fact that he was the kind of whiny, passive aggressive shit no one wants to follow. But he hadn’t been the sort to stab other people in the back.
Just goes to show not all of us improve with age…
“Or am I wrong?” Lee continues in a mocking tone that makes my teeth grind together. “I really hope I’m not. It would be so much better if we could all bury the hatchet. Since Rachael and I are engaged and all.”
My jaw drops. I can’t help it. I’m too shocked to hide it, though I regret the loss of control instantly as triumph flickers behind Lee’s dirt brown eyes.
But, hell, it’s only been eight weeks since Rachael told me she needed a ring from me by the end of the year or she was going to have to move on. Only six weeks since I caught her in bed with Lee.
Six weeks! I haven’t had time to get the smell of her perfume out of the curtains. I still find her tiny pink-trimmed socks hiding under the washing machine in the laundry room. I still wake up expecting her to be lying next to me and feel that unwelcome pang of loneliness when I realize the other side of the bed is empty. Not a pang for Rachael, but a pang for someone, for that forever woman I’m beginning to doubt I’ll find.
“Show him your ring, honey,” Lee says, while I fight to arrange my features into something resembling disinterest.
But I’m not disinterested.
I’m ashamed of myself. I feel like a fucking fool. I should have seen through Rachael so much sooner. It shouldn’t have taken a year to realize she cares more about landing a husband, any husband, than she did about me. I wasn’t special. I was a mark who didn’t pay out so she’d moved on to someone else. Even knowing Lee probably means nothing to her, either, isn’t enough to banish the sour taste rising in my throat.
At the end of the day, Lee doesn’t matter. Rachael’s the one who conned me.
And Rachael’s the one who can still make it hurt when she says, “Come on, Lee, he doesn’t want to see my ring. Nash has no interest in rings, do you Nash?” She arches a cool brow as she meets my gaze, giving the dig a little extra oomph, making my stomach knot as anger rushes in to mix with the shame.
Anger and shame are a powerful combination. And a stupid, dangerous one. No one ever made a good decision inspired by that particular cocktail.
I should keep my mouth shut until I’m steady in my skin again.
Instead my lips part and crazy comes pouring out, “I wouldn’t say so, no. But there aren’t a lot of choices around here. I’m thinking I’ll head into Atlanta next weekend to look for something special for my girl.”
Now it’s Rachael’s turn to pick her jaw up off the ground. Watching her struggle to find words feels so damned good it takes a few seconds for the voice of reason to pierce the rush.
But when it does, it doesn’t hold back, Great work, jackass. What the hell have you done? Now you’re going to look like an even bigger fool when Rachael finds out you don’t even have a date for Friday night, let alone a fiancée.
“Right, as if,” Rachael sputters, almost as if she can read my thoughts. “I’ll believe it when I see it. For a guy with so much muscle, you sure are afraid of other ‘M’ words.”
She lets out a little laugh. Lee joins in, but he’s looking a lot less smug after the reminder that the only reason he has a beautiful redhead on his arm is because I refused to put a ring on her finger first. He’s deflating before my eyes, in fact.
I almost feel sorry for him. Sorry for this chode who banged my girlfriend in my bed.
I have to get away from them before I do something truly crazy like offer to start a Rachael Recovery Group with the douchebag.
Mercifully, we’re finally at the front of the line. With a final round of tight grins and a promise to see me around, Lee hustles Rachael to the ticket window on the right while I head to the one on the left.
I take my sweet time deciding on which admission packet I’d like to purchase, wondering if Raleigh and Alexandria will care if I don’t show up tonight, after all. My siblings and I rarely make plans that are set in stone. With a family as large as ours, it’s impossible to accommodate everyone’s schedules. We tend to keep things casual, letting each other know when and where we’re going to be on a given night, with an understood open invitation to any Geary who wants to show up and join the fun. I’ve been looking forward to riding the rollercoaster with my nieces and nephews and spoiling them with all the pricey fair junk food we were too poor to afford as kids, but now…