Page 116 of Seven Year Itch
And just as soon as I find her, I’m going to tell her that once and for all and stop dancing around the bullshit. She feels it too. She has to. There’s no way I got here on my own. There’s no way she looked at me the way she did last night and didn’t feel it. Right?
Finding my footing, I jog through the hallway and make my way down the long staircase, breathing a sigh of relief when I spotDakota’s blond hair. Good, she’s still here. She didn’t jump in a cab and leave me with my heart on my sleeve and my dick in my hand.
My dick, however, deflates instantly when I see the person standing next to her. He has a man bun and a lame-ass fucking mustache, and he goes by the name ofRandal.
Dakota’s eyes find mine, looking cornered and desperate as I beeline straight for her, protectiveness vibrating through my entire body. Randal must feel my approach because he turns around, and his eyes go wide when he spots me.
“What is this, a Boulder theme night?” Randal laughs as I move over and stand next to Dakota, putting my shoulder slightly in front of her to create some space between her and this fuck-wit.
Randal’s face morphs from surprise to realization as he points between me and Dakota. “Wait, are you two here together?”
Dakota’s hand sneaks up, lacing her fingers with mine, and that’s all the answer Randal needs as he barks out a riotous laugh. “Oh my gosh, I did not see that one coming.”
“There is nothing to see.” My jaw cracks as I clench my teeth, my muscles tightening all over my body. “Why don’t you just go about your business and leave us alone.”
“No, no, this all makes more sense now.” Randle steeples his fingers in front of him, a positively tickled expression all over his face. “I thought when I saw Dee here by herself, she was finally trying to get her freak on at last. But I should have known it took a guy likeyouto break her out of her shell.”
Randal pokes me in the chest, and I swing my hand out, swatting him away. “Don’t touch me, Randal.”
He laughs again and turns his beady eyes back to Dakota. “This is kind of serendipitous, isn’t it?”
“What is?” Dakota asks, and I hate the emotion I hear in her voice. I don’t know if I put it there or Randal, but I hate it with every bone in my body.
He turns a grotesque sneer from me to Dakota. “Well, you neverliked him just like you never liked yourself, so you really are probably perfect for him.”
In one breath, I eliminate all space between us, so we’re nose to chin as I tower over his five foot ten height. Dakota grabs my arm, trying to hold me back as I pitch my voice to be casual and controlled. “Have you ever been stabbed, Randal? Cuz I’d like to show you what that’s like.”
“Oh, you don’t want to just give me a black eye again?” Randal holds his hand up, and I feel the blood in my veins run cold. “We’ve upgraded to weapons now?”
Silence descends over us as I internally cringe at what he just revealed.
Dakota’s voice is soft as she asks, “Again?What does he mean?”
Randal moves his attention to the woman beside me as he tsks. “You let a guy take you to a sex club, you should probably know him a bit better, don’t you think, Dee?”
“What is he talking about, Calder?” Dakota snaps, yanking me around to look at her. She blinks back tears and shakes her head as the puzzle pieces begin clicking together. “It was you who gave him the black eye he had at our wedding, wasn’t it?”
I drop my head in surrender.
“But why?”
I step closer to her, my heart racing as I try to grab her hands, but she yanks them away. “I was going to tell you the day I saw you in your wedding dress. But you looked so beautiful and so happy. And I just couldn’t bring myself to hurt you like that.”
Her eyes swim with emotion as she frowns up at me, still not understanding. “But what were you going to tell me?”
“Yeah, Calder... what were you going to tell her?” Randal’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and I clench my fists fighting the urge to knock him out.
“Randal, you need to back the fuck up, or I swear to God I will end you.” I turn back to Dakota, guilt slicing through every part of my body as I say the words that I’ve wanted to say for the pastmonth. “I saw Randal coming out of a bathroom with a woman at Pearl Street Pub two weeks before your wedding.”
She inhales sharply and her eyes move to Randal, but I continue. “I wanted to tell you to call off the wedding, but I didn’t think I had the right, so I decided to fix the problem directly.”
“How?” she snaps, her voice cracking at the end as her eyes swerve back to me. “How did you fix my problem?”
I swallow the knot in my throat. “I was working in your bathroom later that week when Randal was moving his stuff in. He walked past me to put stuff in the closet, so I took the opportunity to call him out on his shit. I told him if he ever fucked around on you, I’d kill him. It got physical.”
Her eyes widen, and her lips twitch as she processes everything I’ve just said.
“You fucking sucker punched me,” Randal bellows, crossing his arms over his chest. “And with no proof that I actually cheated. You are certifiable.”
