“Go fuck yourself, Coen. After everything I’ve done for you, you pull this stunt?”
“I’m not pulling anything.” He leaned forward. “I’m asking you. If you say no, then I’ll back off. But if you say yes…I’m going for it. So, what’s it going to be?”
My eyes shifted back and forth as I looked into his, livid at my brother’s second betrayal. He didn’t go behind my back and try to fuck her like he did with Simone, but it still made me angry. If I said no, he would abandon this and forget about it. But that wasn’t enough for me. “You’re a piece of shit, you know that?”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“You’re an asshole for even asking.”
“Am I?” he countered. “You’re the asshole who broke that woman’s heart. She said you were going to try to be something more, and you didn’t even make an attempt. It was just empty words so you could keep using her. Maybe I’m an asshole for wanting my brother’s ex, but at least I don’t play games like you.”
“I did try,” I snapped. “It’s just not for me.”
“Then why can’t I date her?” he snapped. “You don’t want her, never wanted to really be with her, so why can’t I ask her out? I actually like her. I want to take her out to dinner and get to know her. I don’t just want to fuck her. I want a wife—a real wife this time. I’m a successful, honest, and wealthy guy. If you want her to end up with someone good, who’s better than me?”
I shook my head, disgusted by his reasoning. “No.”
His eyes filled with disappointment. “You’re an even bigger asshole than I thought.”
“I’m the asshole?” I asked incredulously. “You want to fuck my ex-girlfriend a week after we broke up.”
“No. A week after you dumped her. And she was never your girlfriend. You paid her for sex—end of story. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say she meant nothing to you and she was just living here because she needed a place to stay, but then switch to a whole different story when you don’t want me to have her. That’s a dick move.”
“You want to talk about dick moves, huh?” I had more ammunition than he could take. He’d fucked me over royally, more than anyone else I’d ever known. Just the fact that he had the audacity to initiate this conversation was ridiculous.
“Look, I think she likes me too. She and I have been talking a lot, and we have a lot in common. She’s heartbroken over you, and I’m heartbroken over Simone. We both got played by people we loved—”
“I never played her.”
“It seems that way—to both of us.”
“And she doesn’t like you.” I remembered walking into her bedroom and the way she hoped I was my brother. It hurt me deeply, made me so jealous that I didn’t know how to respond. Simone and Coen hurt me so much with their betrayal, and now I felt like I was living through it again.
“Maybe she doesn’t like me the way she likes you. But I can see it going somewhere. I was at her place a few days ago—”
“What?” My brother was already sneaking off to her place while I sat on the couch and moped?
“I stopped by to check it out. It’s nice. We sat in the living room on plastic chairs, shared a bottle of wine, and just talked. I’m telling you, we have a lot in common.”
“You can have anything in common if you try hard enough.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But it doesn’t change the way I feel. I see it going somewhere. I don’t see us doing anything serious right this second, but I can see feelings developing. I can see chemistry. So I thought I would ask now before all of that stuff does develop. Maybe I’m jumping the gun right now, but I would rather be as honest as possible instead of betraying you again.”
I wanted to break my beer bottle and stab him with it. “How thoughtful…”
“Slate, if it bothers you that much, you can still get her back. She’s yours for the taking if you want her.”
I turned back to the TV, knowing that wasn’t an option. I’d been in a relationship once, and it had ended so badly. Now the past seemed to be repeating itself—and it was nearly identical. My trust issues only deepened. A part of me knew Monroe was different, that she was honest and loyal and would never hurt me. This was only happening because I was the one who hurt her. It was easier to sabotage the relationship before she had the chance to hurt me.
“Slate.”
I turned back to him.
“If she’s your woman, make her your woman. But if not…then I think you’re being the asshole by not letting her be happy.”