Page 75 of Once Upon A Player
No, I wouldn’t.
“The thing is,” I know I’m going off on a tangent, but it shocked me last night, and I still can’t wrap my mind around it. “He expected me to just leave everything behind and go to Madrid with him. Without even asking if that’s what I wanted.”
He basically swept aside my jobs as though they were nothing.I keep that to myself, as I can’t even explain to my best friend how much that still haunts me.
Katie narrows her eyes but clearly decides to play along. “You did agree, though. Unless I totally misunderstood what you were talking about the other day.”
“No, that was different. I thought he wanted a long-distance relationship. But last night he was so sure we were moving out there together. It was like he couldn’t believe it when I didn’t say yes.”
She sniffs. “You know what that makes him, don’t you? An entitled prat.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lucas
It’s early afternoon when I crawl out of bed, still wearing the shirt I wore last night. I don’t remember what time I got home. We hit a couple of nightclubs after the cruise, and as usual, I was the life and soul. The only difference between now and before I met Violet was this time there was a sick, hollow sensation filling my chest, and at the end of the party, I didn’t bring a chick back with me.
I yank open the bedroom door and stumble across the hall toward the kitchen. Even though everyone saw me arrive with Violet, it didn’t stop a few of the girls hitting on me after she left.
She fucking left.I still can’t believe it. What the hell happened last night? Everything was great. And then it was shit.
The coffee jug clatters onto the workbench, and after grabbing a bag of coffee beans from the cupboard, I bang the door shut, but it doesn’t give much satisfaction. Neither does the image of Will’s head rising from the sofa in the sitting room.
“Morning,” he mumbles, running a hand through his hair. “Could you make any more noise while you’re at it?”
Since I didn’t ask or want him to stay the night, I ignore him. “Thereisa spare bedroom. Why’d you crash on the sofa?” Yeah okay, so I suck at ignoring him.
Yolanda wanders into the kitchen, answering my question. “Hey, Lucas.” She pats my arm as she passes me to find a cup. “How are you feeling?”
Just. Fucking. Great.
I squint at my phone, but Violet still hasn’t left a message or text, so I drop it back onto the workbench.
Yolanda puts the coffee on and then admires the view through the window, as though she’s never seen it before.
I eye my phone again but manage to resist picking it up. She’ll call me. She’s just making me sweat, that’s all.
Will rolls off the sofa and staggers across the room. He folds his arms on the workbench between us and cocks his head. “You wanna talk about this, bro?”
I give him a death stare. “Fuck off.”
“Fair enough.” He nods sagely.
My phone rings, and I consider being cool and letting it go to voicemail, but before the thought has even finished forming, I’ve grabbed it.
“What?” I stare at the ID in disbelief. “Penelope?” I shove the damn thing in my shirt pocket, fold my arms, and glare at my two best friends who aren’t even pretending to ignore me.
“Huh.” Will frowns. “You’re not hooking up with Pene again, are you?”
“Don’t be such a fucking fuckwit.”
He shrugs, unconcerned by my insults. “She’s your ex, not mine.”
I don’t even know what he’s insinuating so ignore his comment. “I haven’t seen her for six months before last night. And then she acted like…” I don’t know how she acted, but it was weird. And in front of Violet, too.
“Like she wasn’t over you,” Yolanda says. “That’s because she isn’t, Lucas.”
Yolanda’s not usually this clueless. “It was just a casual fling with Pene. You know how it is.” She should do. She’s seen me date enough girls over the last four years to know it never means anything much on either side.
