Page 98 of Playing a Player (Sweet Cravings 1)

"Keira, stop, you're driving yourself crazy." Emily picked up my phone and moved it out of sight.

"Do you think they still haven't found him?" It had been several hours since Rory had stormed out. I thought Connor or Jackson might text me once they found him, but I hadn't heard from either of them. And Rory wouldn't pick up whenever I tried to call him. I rubbed my forehead. I had a terrible hangover from drinking shots in the morning. I was physically and emotionally spent.

"I'm sure they found him. They're probably just hanging out. That's what guys do."

"They always hang out here. No, he's definitely sleeping with someone else right now. They can't find him because he's at some tramp's house."

"He's not."

"Emily, he's slept with an average of two women a week for the past six years."

"Yeah, that's disgusting."

"Ugh." I put my face in my hands. "Why didn't I just tell him?"

Emily rubbed my back. "Keira, stop beating yourself up. Everyone makes mistakes. Part of being in a relationship is working through problems together."

"We're not in a relationship anymore. He broke up with me."

"You were both drunk. You had a fight. He didn't really break up with you. And there's no way he's sleeping with someone else. From everything you told me, up until that point it seemed like he was totally smitten with you."

"Why can't he just tell me everything I want to hear like you do?" I laughed and lifted up my head.

"Because he's a boy, not a man. You really should be dating men, Keira."

"Oh, he's definitely a man."

Emily laughed. "Okay, fine. But are you sure you even love him? Are you sure you don't just..." Emily looked away from me. "Are you sure you don't just want to be in love?"

I had thought about that a lot. But I didn't feel the pressure of getting married when I was with him. He had even told me he wasn't sure he'd ever be ready for marriage and I still wanted to date him. I did love him. Nothing else mattered. "When did you realize you loved Jim?"

Emily sighed. "Right away. But you know how I am. I easily fall head over heels."

"But it was different with Jim, right? You knew it was more than just a crush?"

"Yeah, it was different." Emily smiled to herself.

"Living with Rory made everything different for me. It kind of already felt like we were in a relationship somehow. I don't really know how to explain it. He's everything I ever wanted."

"I get it. When you know, you know."

"I lost him, didn't I? I chose my career over love. I never in a million years thought I'd be that person. I don't want to be that person, Emily! How do I fix it? I can't lose him this way."

"Okay, I'm pissed now too. This is ridiculous. No one makes my best friend grovel for hours for no reason."

"There is a reason..."

"No, there's not. I read the articles. They weren't even that specific." She picked up my phone and scrolled through my contact list. Then she picked up her cell, typed in some numbers, and pressed the call button.

"What are you doing?"

"Be quiet, I'm putting it on speaker."

"Hello?" Connor said.

"Son of a bitch," I mouthed silently at Emily. I had been texting him all day and he had never responded to me.

"Hey, Connor."

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