“Ah-huh.”
“Where are you off to?” he asked.
“Cleo needs a place to stay for a few days, so I need to pick her up since her parents took away her car.”
There was no missing the disappointment that settled on his expression. He knew just as I did that we’d have to take it down a notch while Cleo was here. And it sucked.
I straightened and took a step back. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later,” he replied before reversing up the driveway. God, I hoped Cleo wasn’t planning on staying long.
I’m the worst friend ever.
I pulled up in the parking lot, keeping an eye out for Cleo. There were so many people walking around, people running with their dogs, parents playing with their children. It was the perfect day for the outdoorsy type, but it made finding Cleo hard among the sea of people.
Since the universe wasn’t quite done fucking me in the ass, of course, my phone was dead, which meant I couldn’t call Cleo to get her ass over to the parking lot. One would think she’d be smart enough to know that the parking lot would be where I’d pick her up.
Car. Parking lot. It wasn’t that hard.
With a sigh, I put on my sunglasses before getting out of the car. That naked picture of me was still too damn fresh in everyone’s minds, so I chose to stay below the radar and not get noticed.
I scanned the crowd, narrowing my eyes as I searched for Cleo, who would probably be the only woman in the park wearing Jimmy Choo heels.
The heat was brutal. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and not a single leaf stirred with any sign of a breeze.
“The one day I’m not wearing sunscreen. Where are you, Cleo?”
“Sienna?”
Oh, sweet Jesus.“Oakley,” I whispered, closing my eyes and casting my face up to the heavens.
“I have to give it to you, firefly. You have balls.” He stopped in front of me. “Can’t believe you’re already showing your face in public so soon.”
There was an entire sentence of f-bombs going off inside my head, and even though I really wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, make a scene, and then kick him in the balls—I was just too fucking over his shit to dignify anything he said with a response.
Without uttering a single word, I brushed past him, ignoring him as if he was no one of interest to me.
“Sienna.” He grabbed my arm, and I yanked away from his grip.
“Don’t fucking touch me, you asshole,” I hissed. “You have no fucking right to even speak to me, you piece of shit.”
“This is how it’s gonna be now? After three fucking years.”
“No. This is how it’s going to be now after you invaded my privacy and fucking humiliated me.” I could practically feel my eyes bulging as blood rushed to my cheeks. “You fucked everything up, Oakley. Not me.”
“Bullshit,” he spat out, stepping closer, his brown eyes nothing but ice. “You ruined every chance we had by sleeping with that fucker squatting in your cottage.”
“Fuck you.” I bared my teeth and clenched my jaw. “Fuck you and your goddamn ego. Just leave me alone, okay? Pretend I don’t exist. That’s exactly what I’ll be doing with you.”
I turned on my heel, unable to stomach the sight of him any longer. The urge to punch him in the face was overwhelming, but he was hardly worth the broken nail I’d get from it.
“Sienna, wait.”
I stomped off, my sandals sinking deep into the lush grass.
“Sienna, stop. Please.”
I stilled and closed my eyes without turning to face him. “Oakley, just leave me alone. I can’t do this with you anymore.”