Page 40 of Of Pucking Course

But we’re not together anymore. I’m never going to give in to him ever again.

I push through the discomfort that grips me like an invisible fist.

I take a deep breath and answer. “Hello?”

“Finally,” he says, annoyed.

“What do you want, Jake?”

“I want to see you so we can work this out.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, angry and annoyed that he still thinks he has a chance with me.

“I told you. I don’t want to be with you anymore.”

“I’m your husband, Dakota. You can’t just shut me out because of one mistake.”

Tears burn my eyes as I let out a laugh of pure exasperation. “One mistake? Do you really think you only ever made one mistake the whole time we were together?”

He exhales sharply. “Not this again. Dakota, how many times are you gonna do this? How many times are you gonna bring up every little mess-up and throw it in my face so you can use it as a reason for us not to be together?”

My brain snags on the word “little.”

I think about every time he made fun of my job. Every time he pushed aside my feelings and my wants in favor of his own. Every time he made fun of me in front of his friends. Every time he made me feel small and broken and unwanted…

Little.

He thinks those are all little, insignificant, unimportant. Just like he thinks I’m little, insignificant, and unimportant.

Anger and pain simmer hot underneath my skin.

“Jake, do you even remember why I was upset the night before our reception?”

He makes an annoyed sound. “How could I forget? Your little problem has been an issue for our entire relationship, Dakota. And I was patient with you for so long. But shit, I’m a guy. I have needs.”

That anger inside of me transforms into a rolling boil.

I think back to the night before our reception. We were fooling around in bed. He was going down on me, and even though it felt good, it was taking a long time for me to evenget close to having an orgasm. It’s a problem I’ve had with every guy I’ve dated and every relationship I’ve ever been in. I’ve never been someone who can come quickly with a partner. I hate that about myself. I always have.

I was worried about how long I was taking and if Jake was getting tired. After a while, Jake sat up and slapped the inside of my thigh and yelled at me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why can’t you come like a normal person?”

Even thinking about it now, my body tenses. It was so jolting, so terrifying to see him lash out at me when I was naked and vulnerable.

He had gotten frustrated with me during sex before, but he had never reacted like he did that night…

We argued, and he slept on the couch. I tried to talk to him about it the next morning before the reception, but he was still mad. So I pushed my feelings aside and tried to put on a happy face for the reception. But then he smashed our wedding cake in my face, and that was the last straw.

“Screw you and your needs, Jake. Don’t ever call me again.”

I’m shaking when I hang up the phone. Tears tumble down my cheeks as I call Sophie.

“Hey,” I croak out when she answers. “I know we’re meeting for lunch today, but can we meet sooner? I need to talk to you.”

Chapter 13

Sam

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