I only have one.
What is it?
I don’t talk about it.
Don’t you think I should know? So I don’t bring it up?
Trust me, Skye. You will never bring it up.
Except I did.
Why is it his hard limit?
Unless…
Breath control. Neck bondage. It must have something to do with Braden and Addison.
My fingers are poised over my keyboard to respond to Addie’s message. Something like, “You’ve got me all choked up.” Surely, she’ll recognize the double entendre.
But I stop.
I’m not Addison. I don’t hurt people simply to make myself feel better.
I take a screen shot of the message and then delete it. Never hurts to keep records.
My plane lands, and I catch a cab home. I didn’t tell my parents I was coming. They’re always asking me to visit, so I figured why not surprise them?
During the sixty-minute cab ride, my phone rings. A Boston number that I don’t recognize. It could be new work, so I answer it.
“This is Skye.”
“Hello, Skye. It’s Ben Black.”
I drop my jaw. “Braden’s brother?”
“The one and only.”
Why is Ben calling me? Not even a week has passed since Braden broke up with me. Maybe he doesn’t know.
“Okay. Hi.”
“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m calling.”
“Yeah, it crossed my mind.”
“You need to throw my brother a bone.”
My heart thumps. “I need to…what?”
“He’s miserable. What the hell happened?”
He’s miserable? A wide grin splits my face. I shouldn’t be happy that Braden’s miserable, but it means he’s miserable without me. So yeah, I’m a little giddy.
Make that a lot giddy.
“I… I think that’s between him and me,” I say.
“God, you sound just like him. He’s in full asshole mode, Skye. He’s out of control.”
Out of control.
So unlike Braden.
“And that’s abnormal for him?” I can’t help asking.
Ben chuckles. “Man, you two are made for each other. Let’s just say he’s being nastier than usual. When I asked about you, all I got was a growl.”
“A growl?”
“Yeah. And I’m not exaggerating. I’m being literal. He fucking growled like a wolf, and then he said you were over.”
“Then you know as much as I know,” I say.
“No offense, Skye, but that’s crap, and we both know it.”
I can’t fault his observation, but no way in hell am I telling Ben that his brother dumped me because I wanted him to tie a rope around my neck. That’s a little too personal.
Actually, all of this is a little too personal.
But…I have forty-five minutes until I get to my rural home. Maybe I can learn something.
“Ben, what happened between Braden and Addison Ames?”
He pauses a moment. Did the call drop?
Finally, he says, “Addie? That’s ancient history.”
“It’s not that ancient.”
“I can’t tell you anything that Braden hasn’t already.”
“He hasn’t told me anything.”
“Nothing at all?” His inflection makes him sound genuinely surprised.
“Only that they were both young and didn’t know what they were getting into.”
“That’s a big part of it.”
“But I’ve heard other stuff…”
“From whom?”
I swallow. I won’t violate Betsy’s trust. “I can’t say.”
“Fair enough, but if I don’t know the source, I won’t be able to tell you if it’s true or fabricated. So you have to tell me.”
“I don’t have to do anything. I won’t tell you.”
“Then why would you bring it up?”
He has me there. I pause for several seconds.
“You still there?” Ben asks.
“Yeah.”
“The connection seems weird. Where are you?”
“In a cab.”
“Oh.”
“Driving into rural Kansas.”
“What?”
“I’m on my way to visit my parents.”
“When will you be back?”
“My return ticket is for Saturday. I’ll be here a week.”
“Hmm. Okay. But another week of Asshole Braden is going to wear on all of us.”
“I can’t help you, okay? Braden is the one who ended it. It wasn’t me.”
His turn to be silent. Then, “Seriously?”
I keep my jaw from dropping again. “Yeah, seriously. Do you think I’d lie about that? Didn’t he tell you the same thing?”
“He just said it was over, so I assumed—”
“You assumed I did the dumping?” I shake my head to the phone. “Unbelievable.”
“He seriously broke up with you.” His words aren’t a question. They’re more of a flabbergasted statement.
“Yes. He seriously broke up with me. Why would you assume it was the other way around?”
“Because of the way he’s acting. He’s miserable, and anyone that miserable wouldn’t have caused the misery himself.”
“Apparently he did.”
“But Braden doesn’t…”
Doesn’t what? Make himself miserable? No, he doesn’t. I can’t help chuckling to myself. That time he flew back from New York early because he wanted to see me, and I came clean about stealing the piece of mail from his place, he made his stance clear.
I could end things with you, but I didn’t fly two hundred miles today to punish myself.
No, Braden doesn’t make himself miserable.
“Braden doesn’t what?” I ask.
Again, more silence for a few seconds. Then, “He left early this morning.”
“What? Why?” I ask
“Said he was going back to New York for an extended period of time. Possibly indefinitely.”