Noel’s flight lands at the Charlotte airport any minute. He’ll be here soon and I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m going to say to him.  As much as I love the idea of using the silent treatment method, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from lashing out at him at least once. 

He needs to know I think he’s a selfish bastard and I hate his guts.

The mouse on my laptop keeps sticking as I continue research into charities like Black Falcon’s. I have to keep my mind busy some how. If I allow it, my brain will drive me insane replaying thoughts of Noel and all the other women he’s been with. I didn’t insist he use a condom when we were together because stupid me, trusted him. Now, the thought of all the diseases I might now have makes me want to literally murder him. 

I readjust myself in the bed and open a new search page. Mystery girlfriend has my mind curious. I tossed and turned all night wondering who she is and what she looks like.  

I open a new search box and carefully type in, “Noel Falcon’s girlfriend, Sophie,” into the box before hitting send. It only takes a couple seconds for the results to pop up, but out of all the links, I don’t see anything about Noel Falcon and a girlfriend. 

I tap my finger on my chin and then it occurs to me I can still probably find this girl. I just need a different route. This time I type in, “Riff from Black Falcon’s girlfriend, Sophie”. 

Bingo.

This time pages and pages of pictures flood my screen of Riff and a blonde named Sophie together. I click on a full length picture of her. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s beautiful. Long, blonde hair cascades down her back and her legs are incredibly long, not to mention her perfect smile. I stare down at my very modest chest and then back to Sophie’s.

We are exact opposites in every way. 

Another thought occurs to me. I’m the other woman. Noel cheated on this gorgeous woman with me.  That thought alone keeps me from hating her completely. It’s not her fault Noel is a terrible person, but that doesn’t erase the fact she came between two best friends. 

She’s still a fucking slut.

“What are you doing?”

My heart bangs against my ribs. Shit! He isn’t supposed to be back yet. 

I roll to my side and sit up after I slam the lid on my laptop shut. He stands there in his red t-shirt and distressed jeans looking like he hasn’t slept much. Crazy rocker hair stands in place with a pair of black sunglasses resting on his head with both hands planted on his hips.

How dare he question my actions. “That should be my line.”

Noel flinches. The look on his face gives him away.

He knows I know. 

He steps inside the room and shuts the door behind him. “Lane, you can’t believe the shit you read on there.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, really. Who should I believe then, Noel? You?”

He takes two quick steps and sits on the bed next to me. He tries to wrap his arm around my waist, but I shove it off me. “Baby? Please. Let me explain.”

I shake my head. “No. No more lies.”

“I never lied to you.” 

“You’re lying to me right now!” I shout. My entire body shakes, so much for being cool and blowing him off. “Were you ever going to tell me about Sophie? Or are your plans to revenge fuck me not complete yet?”

Noel grabs my chin between his thumb and index finger and forces me to look at him. “You’re not just some piece of ass to me, Lane. How can you even think that?” My eyes water and I blink out a tear. It rolls down my cheek and Noel wipes it away with his thumb then cradles my face in his hands. “I love you.”

A sob I can no longer hold back escapes me. “How can you love me when you have a girlfriend?”

His lips pull into a tight line. “It’s complicated, but it’s not what you think.”

“Then tell me. Tell me why you would say things to me that make me believe I’m your world and not tell me you have someone else.”

He sighs and rests his forehead against mine. “Because I can’t leave her and I can’t lose you.”

I pull away from his hold and a cold chill runs through me. “Then why drag me into all this Noel? Why not let me work on the campaign from New York? You forced me to come here because you knew I still had feelings for you. You knew this would eventually happen and you have no intentions on leaving your girlfriend, and yet, you did it anyway. Riff is right. You are a selfish bastard.”

“Riff? He’s how you found out, isn’t it? I’m going to fucking kill him!” He roars and bounces up off the bed.

“Noel!” I reach for him, but he flings the door open and storms down the hallway to Riff’s foxhole before I have the chance to get out of bed.

Noel throws open the curtain and lunges inside. “You fucking told her?”

“You can’t have them both,” Riff yells back. “I won’t let you do that to Sophie.”

I jump off the bed. “Noel, stop!”

In a split second, Noel loses it. He yanks Riff from the bunk and throws him down on the hallway floor. Riff starts to stand, but before he gets the chance, Noel’s on him, connecting a hard punch in his face. 

Riff grunts and grabs Noel into a tight headlock. Noel flings his arms wildly, his fists cracking against Riff’s ribs. 

“Stop it!” I yell, while standing back. These two guys both have a good foot on me and at least sixty or so pounds. There’s no way I can break them up without getting hurt. 

Trip and Tyke’s curtains fly back and they jump out of their bunks. The twins get in-between the two fighting men and pull them apart. Riff and Noel both still red-faced determined to get at each other.

“I can’t believe you fucking told her!” Noel shouts while still in Trip’s firm hold. “You need to mind your own damn business.”

Riff laughs harshly. “Me? Mind my own business? You make it pretty hard to do when you’re fucking my girlfriend behind my back!”

Noel’s mouth drops open. “She came to me. I didn’t go after her.”

“And that makes it fucking okay? Jesus, Noel, you were my best friend—my brother and you still screwed me over. I’m not going to let you do that to Lanie.”

“I was going to tell her!” Noel shouts with his arms spread wide. 

“When? When were you going to tell her? After Sophie has the baby?”

I fall back against the wall. A baby? Did I just hear that right? Sophie’s pregnant? With Noel’s baby?

Noel’s body stills and his eyes snap to mine. That’s why he can’t leave her. He fucking knocked her up. I shake my head. No. No fucking way this is happening to me. I am not this person. I don’t get caught up in drama like this.

“Lane?” I hear Noel say my name as I continue to shake my head and back away from him. “Lane, wait!”

I turn on my heels and run back to the bedroom to grab my suitcase. I can’t stay here. I can’t stomach looking at him a second longer. The drawer flies open and I grab a handful of my clothes and throw them in the bag. It looks like a mangled mess, but a few wrinkles are the least of my problems.

The laptop on the bed goes in last and I zip up the suitcase. I freeze when I hear his voice. “Where are you going?”

Is he a complete idiot? Did he actually think I’d stay once I found out about Sophie? I shake my head and step around him into the bathroom to grab my make-up bag. The road with Noel isn’t anything like I planned. 

Noel grabs my arm as I pass back by him. “Aren’t you going to talk to me?”

I yank from his grasp and head for the bed. “I have nothing to say to you.”

He slams the door shut to our room. “Well, I have something to say to you.”

I roll my eyes at him. Anything that comes out of his mouth will be a lie and I don’t have time to listen to his bullshit. 

I grab my suitcase. “Get out of my way, Noel.”

“No. Damn it, Lane. You’re going to listen to me, even if I have to tie you down to that fucking bed.”

I narrow my eyes. “Wanna bet? Move.”

“God damn it, Lane. Would you fucking stop and listen to me for two seconds.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I fucked up, alright. I know that. Sophie and I aren’t what you think. Trust me. She means nothing to me.”

I gasp. “You’re worse than I thought, if you’d talk about the mother of your child like that. You really are an asshole, like your father.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “I am nothing like that bastard.”

“Oh no? I recall him turning his back on his child, too.”

His jaw tightens and the muscle work beneath his skin. “What the hell do you know about being there for someone, Lane?”

That hurts. It’s a direct blow to the heart. He’s calling me out for leaving him four years ago and it can’t come at the worst opportune time. Doesn’t matter. Before I dumped his sorry ass, I was always there for him. “A hell of a lot more than you do, apparently.”

“That’s fucking bullshit. You turned your back on me. You always do. When you think I put something else ahead of you, you bail. You did it that night on the dock and you’re doing it again now.”

I shake my head. “That’s not why I left you, Noel. I left you because you were a selfish bastard who cared more about himself than the person who loves you the most in the world.”

The suitcase hits the floor with a loud thud when I yank it off the bed and roll it towards the door. 

Noel steps in my path and grabs me by the shoulders. “Please.” His voice is so low it’s a near whisper. “Please stay with me.”

I close my eyes. I can’t look at him. Even though what he’s done to me is completely shitty, I don’t want to see him this way. Hurting him again is the last thing I want to do, but I can’t stay. Not after all this. “Let me go, Noel.”

“No,” he says. “I’m going to fight for you. I need you to know you’re my everything. I can’t lose you again. I just want you to give me a chance, Lane—a chance to prove myself to you.”

His words sting. How I wish they were true. If they were, he would’ve ended things with Sophie the minute we reconnected and told me everything. Instead, he hid everything from me. 

“How can I trust you now?” I open my eyes and touch his cheek. “I’m sorry,” I say before I step out of his hold and roll my suitcase out the door.