Page 79 of Torrid Little Passion

ME: What things?

MYA: Us.

ME: Are you breaking up with me?

MYA: We can't break up if we're not dating. And don't try to backtrack and say we are now.

ME: If we haven't been dating, what have we been doing for three months?

MYA: Having amazing sex.

ME: I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself. So have I in case you couldn't tell. But that's not all that's been going on between us, and you know it. Tell me what's really going on.

She ghosts me. No reply, not even after three follow-up texts begging her to talk to me. To come over. To call.

She doesn't reply the rest of the weekend.

I send her an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner at the Kappa house, but she doesn't confirm or decline, remaining completely silent. Leaving me in the dark about what happened and why she no longer is speaking to me.

Which makes my heart both race and sink when she shows up at the Kappa house with Cleo, Scarlet, Kora, and Gia in tow for dinner. But she refuses to make eye contact. Won't get within five feet of me. Keeps herself positioned between Cleo and Scarlet the entire time. And leaves soon after we're done eating.

"You good?" Colt's voice startles me, pulling me from my thoughts. I've been going over the days leading up to our text conversation and can't figure out where things got off track for us.

"Not even close."

"Mya?" he asks, a knowing lift to his brow.

"I was planning on telling you, since you basically already figured it out, but she's giving me the brush off. I have no idea why. Things were great, or at least I thought they were."

"What'd you do to make her change her mind?"

"I didn't do anything." I feel as defensive as I sound. When I fuck up, I know I fuck up. I'm generally aware of my shortcomings. And I'm certain I didn't do anything that would make her run. Not this time.

"What was the last conversation you two had before she started pulling away? What were you doing when you had it? Because if you were having sex, you can leave that part out."

Thinking back, I try to piece together the days leading up to poker night when shit fell apart.

"Walk me through your entire day."

"I met Evie for coffee that afternoon. We talked for a while. Then I went back to my place to meet Mya for a quickie before Julian got home from work."

"Was she acting strange? You know, how girls get quiet when something is on their mind. Or was she short with you, angry for no reason?"

She stormed into the apartment that day. I thought she was eager to see me, so I swept her into my arms, kissed her until I felt her body relax, and took her to bed to relieve whatever was stressing her out. Afterwards, she was quieter than usual and left early, claiming she didn't want to get caught by Julian.

I relay all that to Colt. He nods, listening intently, and then he starts to laugh after I finish.

"She was pissed at you, and you made her forget why she was mad with sex. You took away her control."

"So she dumped me? That seems a little extreme."

"I didn't realize you two were dating."

"She said the same thing. Of course we were. We have been for months. Or we were for months, until she decided to drop me without an explanation."

Colt clears his throat and waits for me to look at him before he speaks. "You realize that women need to hear the words, right? They don't make assumptions. They don't go with the flow like that. They want you to ask them out. Ask them to be your girlfriend. And if you don't, they assume there's a reason for it. Which is where you screwed up. If she didn't know you were dating, you skipped a step, my friend."

He pats me on the shoulder as he passes but has one more piece of parting advice before actually leaving me with my thoughts.

"And if she saw you with Evie, she might think that's the reason you never asked. It doesn't matter that Evie is like a sister to you. Or that you have no interest in her. She's another woman. And you didn't put a title on your relationship. Learn to use your words, Brady."

Fuck!

I hate when he's right. The damn guy looks like he rolled out of bed and didn't shower. His hair is too long, shaggy, and his beard needs to be trimmed. He fits in perfectly with his band but stands out at the fraternity. And of all the people to give me great advice on women, I never thought it would be him. He's shared his bed with more women than I can count and never once the same girl twice.

Groupies, he calls them.

They're not the kind of girls you bring home to mom.

Mya's not a groupie. She's the exact kind of girl you want to introduce to your family. Now I just need to figure out a way to get her to talk to me so I can beg for her forgiveness.

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