Those deep blue eyes that I’ve missed looking at me for far too long narrow on me through the mirror.
“Why are you crying? You broke things off. You stopped returning my calls.”
Is he seriously trying to lay this all on me? I spin around to face him, my breath catching in my throat. He does stupid things to my brain. “I needed you and you weren’t there for me. You promised, Tate!”
“What are you talking about?” He throws his hands out. “Where’s your wedding ring?”
“Really? Tate, come on now, that’s rich coming from you. We’re both adults. We don’t need to do this. I’ll be fine. Just leave me alone. You’re good at that.”
He takes a deep breath studying me, chewing over his next words.
I try to step to pass him and reach for the door handle. He clutches my shoulder and spins me around, pinning me to the back of the door. “This isn’t finished.” His mouth crashes into mine. I bite his lip and go to smack him, but he catches my wrist. “You’re mine, Amaya, you’ve always been mine. Even when you didn’t know me…you were just waiting to be mine.”
“You’re an asshole!” I shove him away and walk away with my heart racing and my panties wet. Why does he have to be so damn sexy? All this time and one simple touch from him and I am crumbling.
I want to turn around and march right back to him and smack him and kiss him. Then smack him again.
I don’t do either of those things though. I keep on walking. I don’t even know where I’m going. I’m super pissed and turned on. What’s wrong with me? Tate King destroyed me, and I go and sign myself up to be a physical therapist for his team.
I walk through the facility and out into the parking lot until I run straight into a chest.
“Hey, you okay, babe?” Sam says, pulling me into a hug. We’ve been dating for a month now, but it feels like longer. He was the reason I got this position on the team, considering he’s part of their PR stuff.
Sam is sweet and the first guy I’ve really dated since Tate tore my world apart. He’s cute in a geeky way. He is real clean cut and so not a jock. That was one reason I went out with him. He looked nothing like Tate. He’s the anti-Tate.
“What the fuck?” I hear hissed from behind me. “What are you doing?”
I turn out of Sam’s arms and look at Tate. “I’m hugging my boyfriend,” I sass him.
“Boyfriend?” He asks with disbelief.
“Yes, you know, someone you date, someone who is there, someone you kiss, fuck, and fall asleep next to at night.”
Sam, assessing the situation, decides to get us going. “Babe, let’s get you home. You can tell me what’s wrong when we get there.” Sam puts his arm around my waist and moves me to his car.
“We’re not finished, Twinkle Toes!” Tate shouts. Hearing my nickname leave his raspy throat tears me apart inside. I shouldn’t have taken this job.
The ride home is quiet, Sam seems stiff. He won’t even look at me. Every time I start to speak, he turns the radio up louder. We go through a drive-thru and he orders me a chicken basket and a milkshake without even asking. He’s being sweet even though he is clearly upset about something.
I nibble on the food even though I’m not really hungry. I just want to go home and curl up in a ball and pretend Tate King doesn’t exist in my world. However, that isn’t possible. I can’t get his stupid dumb sexy face and sad eyes out of my head. I can still feel the burn of his kiss as he ravaged my mouth thirty minutes ago.
We get to my apartment and I unlock the door. I can’t sit down. I pace the room after putting my food on the counter.
“You wanna tell me what that was back there?” Sam finally asks.
“Tate and I used to be together. He promised even when we broke up due to distance and our careers that we would remain friends and be there for each other when we needed. But one day he just stopped. Today is the first day I’ve seen him in years,” I tell Sam honestly.
“You still love him,” he states.
“I don’t want to,” I whisper as tears fall. I’ve not gotten over Tate, how could I? He was my everything. I would have given up dance for him. All he had to do was ask, I would’ve dropped my life in a heartbeat to be at his side. All I wanted was him to say the words, but instead he said our breakup was for the best and then he moved on so easily, as if I never touched his heart or his soul. All the women in the tabloids replaced me at his side and in his life.
Courtney said he made her sick the way he just brushed our breakup off like it was nothing. It finally got to the point where I couldn’t stand for her to mention him, so she finally stopped bringing him up all together.
Sam scoops me up, hugging me, sitting us on the sofa.
His thumbs stroke my arms.
“I don’t know what to do here. I like you, Amaya, but I won’t play second to someone else. I won’t be with you while you’re in love with another man. You need to figure this out and, in a few months, if you aren’t with him, we can try again.”