Page 54 of Unofficial

Maybe he’s still at the house, and she’s hiding. Has to be quiet so Landry doesn’t freak out that she answered the phone to talk to him.

She sniffles. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just... it's been a long day."

"How about we go out on Friday? I'll plan something nice for us, and we'll hit the town."

"I would love to, but I have plans. I could-"

"With Landry?" he interrupts.

"What?"

His fist clenches in front of him. He really hates this guy. "Do you have a date with Landry already? After he went on a date with some chick?"

"Kade, don't do this, please," Jess begs. "Friday doesn't work for me, but-"

"Would you be upset if I was going out with someone else?"

She pauses. "We're not exclusive. And you already did that, remember? I can't believe this. You knew I was seeing someone when you bombarded me and asked for a second chance. Now you're mad because I could possibly be seeing him one night when we’re only in this situation because you threw me away?"

"Are you doing this just to be spiteful? Do you want to give me a signal when you're in bed with him, and I can walk in and get a taste of my own medicine? Would that make it even for you?"

"Stop it!" she cries, and he hears a sob catch in her throat.

He immediately regrets what he said and feels the guilt rise up. It wasn't fair, and he knows it.

"I know how that image haunts someone, and I would never purposely do that, no matter how angry I was. It's just cruel. But you know what, Kade? You hurt me. You don't get to dictate what I do or who I see. Not anymore. If this is how you expect things to be, you can walk. No harm, no foul."

Panic bubbles in his chest. This wasn’t his intention. "Jess, wait-"

"There are no ties, and you're free to do what you need to do."

"If that's what you want me to do," he says, all anger gone. "I get it now. I know how it felt to realize we weren't on the same page. The tables turned, and you win. It hurts knowing you're spending time with someone else, okay? And I guess I'm a little jealous because I saw Landry's SUV outside your house tonight."

"What is with the two of you stalking me?" she asks. "You know what, Kade? I can only win if this is a game, and I don't want any more games. If that's what you think this is, I'm not interested in anything more. What we want still appears to be very different from each other, and it's probably best if we just call it a day."

She hangs up, and he stares at the phone in his hand. What the hell did he just do? And what did she mean by stalking?

He walks into his house from the attached garage just as his doorbell rings. Looking at the app, he sees Drew standing on the front porch. Letting him in, Kade grabs two beers from the fridge and leads him out to the back porch, lighting the natural gas firepit.

"What are you doing here?"

"You were in straight up panic mode," Drew said. "I came to make sure you were okay. Or if you needed help disposing of a body."

Kade laughs. "I wish, but no. I screwed up, Drew."

"Yeah, I know."

"No, on top of that. I think Jess is done with me now."

"You called her, didn't you?"

He nods and drinks from the can in his hand. The bitterness tastes even more bitter as he realizes just what he's done. "I asked if she was free on Friday, and she said she has plans. I kind of lost it."

"What's she doing?"

"Plans with Landry, no doubt."

"She told you that?"

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