Page 72 of Tall, Dark, & Ginger

“You told them I’m an asshole.”

“I told them the truth.”

Trent scoffs, looking over his shoulder before pulling his phone out of the front pocket of his jeans. I watch him tap on his screen, slightly curious about what he’s doing.

“Fuck you anyway, Wren. If you want to live this life working in a restaurant fucking your boss, I don’t care.”

“Good.”

“You were a shitty boyfriend, you know? That’s why I fucked around. You were boring.”

His words sting a little, but not nearly as much as they used to. “It’s a good thing we broke up then.”

The front door opens and all six guys plus Salem, Oakley, and Stewart come outside. Even Florian is with them. Ridley walks over to me, reaching down to slot his fingers through mine.

“Everything good?” Ridley asks.

“Fuck you, man,” Trent spits at Ridley. “You don’t know him like I do.”

Ridley chuckles. “You sure about that?”

“I bet you don’t know his favorite movie.”

“Night of the Brain Eaters. We’ve watched it three times.”

Trent looks surprised, opening his mouth like he’s going to say something, but he doesn’t.

“I think we’ve had enough of this pissing contest,” Ridley says. “No one stole Wren from you. He left you, Trent, because you treated him like shit. Now he’s got a man who would drain the ocean to see him smile.”

My heart stutters as I listen to Ridley standing up for me.

“I suggest you leave now, before we make you leave,” Indy says, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “And don’t come back. You’re not welcome here.”

Trent glares at Indy, then Ridley, and finally me. “Fine. I’ll leave, but it’s the last time you’re gonna see me, Wren. I won’t take you back when all this falls apart.”

“I’ll survive.”

A car pulls up and Trent looks at it, then his phone before stumbling off towards it. He flips us off as he slides into the back seat and we all watch the car pull away from the curb. As soon as Trent is gone, I slump against Ridley as the other guys go back inside the bar.

“You okay, rabbit?”

I nod, sliding my arms around his waist. “Thanks for defending me.”

“Of course. I’m your man.” His teeth graze his bottom lip. “At least I want to be.”

My stomach flutters from his confession, and a mixture of excitement and happiness floods my core. “I’d like that too.”

Ridley smiles, leaning in to kiss me sweetly. “I have a lot of things I want to tell you, but I guess I don’t know when or how or…” His words trail off as he shakes his head.

“How about tonight in your room? That seems to be a good spot.”

He nods, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “I’m really proud of you. You’re doing hard and wonderful things and it’s amazing to watch you bloom.”

My eyes sting with emotion. “That means a lot. Before you, I rarely heard those words.”

“I’m proud of you?”

I nod, blinking to clear my eyes. “Definitely not from my family or men I dated. Just school. It hits differently coming from someone you—” My breath catches in my throat when I register the word I was about to say. “Care about.”

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