Page 51 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

“She used to take pictures of us every time we went out. I've been looking at them almost every night, dude.”

“You sound deep in your drink, Gabe.”

“It's a party. I'm drinking. So, yeah.”

“Maybe you should have some water soon.”

He cackled. “Water is for the weak!”

“So said the guy who got rejected.”

“Hey, you got rejected, too.”

“Well, at least I didn't make the monumental mistake of getting warped by her. At least I moved on to better things instead of moping around about it.”

He scoffed, standing up away from the table. “Oh, did you? That's not how it sounded the other day, my guy.”

“Well, the other day was different. I was taken aback by you dating Clara.”

“Are you still mad about that?”

I shook my head, shrugging away the whole mess. “I don't have time for this, dude.”

“If you didn't have time, why did you start it?”

“You're the one who brought up Clara.”

“And you're the one trying to ruin my chances of getting back with Clara!”

The room throbbed with silence. I could have likely dropped a pin and heard it were it not for the cheesy pop music playing in the background. The music didn't sound like Ryan's style. But then again, I didn't know much about Ryan's style. I hadn't spent enough time home to get to know him.

I glared at Gabe. “Is that what you think I'm doing by pointing you toward hydration?”

“I don't think you get it, man. Clara doesn't want to mess with you again.”

“Oh, she seems so keen to the idea of hooking back up with you.”

He growled. “You don't even know her!”

“It was rude of you to throw me under the bus like that, Gabe. I can't believe you would drag me into your drama like that.”

“You're the one who had a conniption over Clara and I dating in the first place.”

“Yeah, it's almost like you swooped right in as soon as I left. How long were you waiting for Clara to be single? I saw how you stared at her in high school.”

He shook his head. “You're just a jealous old man.”

“And you're a punk.”

“You practically broke us up. If you hadn't damaged her with your career, she might have actually moved to New York with me.”

I gaped at him. “Whoa there, Gabe. I haven't even been around for almost three years. How could you possibly blame me for Clara breaking up with you? I'm not sure that even makes sense!”

“You hurt her, dude. You messed her up. Now, she won't ever leave Oklahoma.”

“And that's my fault?”

“Yeah, why not? If you hadn't been such a jerk, she might have wanted to explore more than just this lousy state.”

---