Chapter Seven
Elly
I was walking through the back lot, not really paying much attention to anything around me. I was so pissed. Cole had just proved that all men were snakes. They all only wanted one thing. I’d actually had a good time with him at the fair. That was why I’d agreed to go out to dinner with him. It was almost as comfortable as things used to be between us, before my boyfriend died and everything had gotten out of hand…We were laughing and talking about old times. He was telling me that he had a serious girlfriend back home and he was even thinking about proposing. I was happy for him until….That thought was crossing my mind just as I looked up and saw Tristan standing next to the door of my bus. Just like that, at the sight of him in the dark, that little ember that smoldered for him in the pit of my belly flared up and lit my whole world on fire. I almost smiled…and then I remembered what he’d done and that I was still really mad at him.
“What are you doing here?” I said. I was trying not to sound too bitchy, just in case he’d come to apologize. I should have known that was a delusion on my part. He looked pissed and I thought god help me if he was going to try and turn this one around on me, too. I wasn’t going to let him off that easy this time. I wasn’t sure that even if he did apologize that I’d ever trust him again. The week I’d had with men had put me in such a bad mood that he’d be lucky to leave with his head still on his shoulders.
“Oh I don’t know,” he said in his most sarcastic tone, “I guess I was just hanging around, hoping to meet the new boyfriend. I thought at the very least I deserved an introduction to my replacement.”
“What?” I honestly had no clue what he was talking about. Did he see me with Cole and misunderstand?
“You know, the preppy fucker you went out with tonight. I’m surprised you’re home so soon. After that kiss I saw outside the restaurant, I assumed you’d be rolling around doing the nasty on some no-tell motel sheets by now.”
“Excuse me?” He was definitely talking about Cole. Had he seen us by accident? He obviously didn’t stay and watch the whole thing. The fact that he was watching at all kind of pissed me off so I said, “What are you a fucking stalker now?”
He kind of laughed, but it wasn’t an amused laugh in any form. His tone was still sarcastic but I actually thought I heard some pain in it too. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.
“No, I’m the dumb fuck who thought he was still your boyfriend,” he said. “I came to talk to you and saw you with that other guy.”
“Oh, you thought you were still my boyfriend, did you?” I was really pissed now, “You thought you could just come here and bat your eyelashes and I’d forgive you like I always do?” That made me have a sudden thought and I said, “If you came here to talk to me, then how’d you see the kiss? That didn’t happen here.”
“At least you’re not trying to deny it,” he said. Nervy bastard that he was. “No, you two walked away from here all happy and chatty. Oh shit! That’s it, isn’t it? He fucked you here before he took you out to dinner. That explains why you looked so comfortable together. Smart guy, get the goods up front and then you know whether or not paying for dinner will be worth it.”
“How fucking dare you? You have to be kidding me right now. First of all, when the fuck have you ever paid for dinner? It would kill you to do anything romantic. You’re a selfish prick and you don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself. All you ever wanted from me was sex and you got that, so fucking just move on already. It wasn’t like we both didn’t know it would happen someday.”
“I’m selfish and unromantic because I’m pissed about finding out you’re screwing some other guy? I’m supposed to be a fucking robot with no feelings, Elly? That shit’s not supposed to hurt? You’ve just been sitting around, waiting for me to screw up? Thanks! It feels so good to know that the first girl I ever called my fucking girlfriend went into it thinking it wasn’t going to last. Is that why you started seeing this guy? You wanted a back-up ready for when we broke up? How long has this been going on? While you’ve been acting all holier than thou this whole time?”
“Fuck you, Tristan. There is nothing going on. What you saw, first of all, was me going to hang out with a guy that I’ve known for years, since high school. He happened to be in town and he called me. When went to the fair. I didn’t so much as hold his hand.”
“Then you came back here and…?”
“I have no idea where you are getting your nerve from right now, but because I have nothing to hide, I’ll tell you. We came back here and he sat up front while I took a shower. Then, we went out to dinner. The whole time, stupid me…I thought it was just two old friends hanging out. We talked about my parents and his mom. We told old stories from high school and caught up on people we haven’t seen in a while. He told me about his girlfriend and his new job…”
“What about you, Elly? Did you tell him about your boyfriend?”
“No, Tristan, because what was I going to say? I was supposed to tell him that I did have a boyfriend for a very short time but I’d just found him with a naked chick on his bus…”
“Fuck that, Elly! Is that all there is to me? Really? I honestly thought that you were the one person who saw something in me a little bit deeper than that.”
“I thought I did,” I told him. “That all went out the window when I found you with her. Now, you’re following me around like some creeper…only you suck at it. You missed the best part. After dinner, the kiss you saw was when he showed his true colors. He’s a stinking punk like every other man I know.”
He crossed his arms and with a smug look he said, “You didn’t seem to mind. I didn’t see you pulling away.”
I wanted to throttle him. I wanted to pound my fists into his chest. Thank god for my impulse control.
“Really, Tristan? Seriously? I swear you’re the worst stalker in history. You followed us, sneaked around a restaurant for what…an hour and a half? Then you see him grab and kiss me and miss the part where I tried to push away and he grabbed my ass? Or the part where as soon as he grabbed my ass I slapped him hard across the face? Why did you leave? You’d waited that long.” He looked like he didn’t want to answer that question. That made me want an answer even more. “Come on Tristan, tell me. Why did you leave before the final show?”
He mumbled then and he didn’t look at me as he said, “I didn’t want to watch you kiss him.”
I hated my fucking ability to feel empathy for anyone sometimes. He sounded so sad when he said that I had this crazy urge to fling myself into his arms and say that I’m sorry. I was a frigging idiot. I took a deep breath and fought through that crazy thought.
“Whether I have a boyfriend or not, Cole had no right to kiss me or to put his hands on me. I gave him no indication today that would be okay and I’m sick of men thinking I’m just there for the taking. I’m sick of men period. You had no right following me, and the only thing worse than what I saw between you and Brooke the other night would have been if you caught me with a dick inside of me. So fuck you, Tristan! I’ve had a long day and I’m going to bed.”
He was standing there like the idiot he was with a confused look on his face as I brushed past him and went into my bus and slammed the door. I swear I must have had smoke coming out my ears I was so pissed off. I hated them all! I swear if one person with a penis had walked in the door right then, I may have been tempted to cut it off.