CHAPTER 13

SCOTT

I’m coming up the stairs when I look up and see Asher heading my way. Once he sees me, his eyes narrow and the look he gives me says he’d like nothing more than to kick my ass. I’d like to see him try.

“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. What happened? Your bar whore decide you weren’t worth her time?”

“What the fuck is your problem?” I growl, fists clenched and itching for a fight. We have a stare down, and after a few minutes, I cave. “Where is she? She okay?”

“Sky’s fine,” he replies coolly. “We went out for a meal, bought her some groceries. I’ve taken care of her.”

It irks the shit out of me to hear him calling her Sky. That’s what I call her. And what the hell does he mean by ‘taken care of her?’

Breathe in. Breathe out.

“I would have taken care of her. I used to be really good at it,” I challenge, puffing out my chest for good measure. The fact that his fists are clenched at his sides at the mere mention of Skylar spending time with me doesn’t go unnoticed. I can’t help wondering exactly what’s going on between them. Are they dating? Friends? Fuck buddies?

Get a grip, Rivers. Breathe in. Breathe out.

As if reading my mind, the bastard actually starts laughing at me. “It’s eating you alive, isn’t it? You’re standing there, and the questions are exploding inside that thick head of yours. You’re wondering how many times I’ve kissed her. Wondering how often I’ve touched her. Held her in my arms. Wiped away her tears.” He takes a step closer and lowers his voice so only the two of us can hear. “You’re dying to know if I’ve been lucky enough to have her in my bed. Something you never got the chance to do.” He smirks. “Go ahead. Ask me. You know you want to.”

“Fuck you,” I hiss. I swear to God if it didn’t land me in jail, I’d strangle his arrogant ass. “I don’t give a damn about any of that shit. What Skylar does is none of my business. She can sleep with whomever she wants.”

“Yeah? Why don’t you try selling that shit to someone who’ll actually believe it. I ain’t buying it. Not for one second. You care. You care a whole fucking lot.” He jabs a finger in my chest.

“Oh, really?” I give him a jab, only mine is definitely harder than the poke he gave me. “And just how the fuck do you know this? You don’t know jack shit about me.” His words strike a nerve, but I don’t want him to know it. I step around him and lean up against the wall to try and stop my head from spinning.

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, my friend. I do know you. You see, she’s told me all about you. About all the time you spent together. The things you told her. About the night you broke her heart.” He steps back and leans against the opposite wall, glaring at me the entire time. When I don’t respond, he keeps right on talking. “She’s my best friend, Scott. We tell each other everything.” He shakes his head on a hollow laugh. “The way I see it, you’re a fucking asshole.”

“Why? Because of stupid decisions I made in high school? Dude, I was eighteen. Fuck, yeah, I was a dumbass. But do you honestly believe I set out to hurt her?” I argue.

“I don’t know. Maybe not in the beginning. Hell, for all I know, maybe you didn’t intend to hurt her the night it all ended, but the way you treated her afterwards spoke a whole lot more about the way you truly felt about her. Actually, I should be thanking you. After all, your shitty behavior was the reason she came running to Atlanta. If it weren’t for you, I never would have met her. So, thank you,” he says smugly.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve calling me an asshole when you’re the one being a grade-A douche right now. You think any of this is easy for me? Huh? I just spent the weekend with her. I apologized and came clean about all that past shit. We’ve worked it out. We were having a good time until you showed up. You think it doesn’t hurt to see the two of you together? The way you held her. Seeing the way her eyes lit up when she saw you tonight. Or the way she looked just before you kissed her.” I push off the wall and pace the small section of tile between us. “It fucking killed me, okay? Is that want you wanted to hear?”

“Honestly, I think you needed to say it more than I needed to hear it.” The look he gives me dares me to try and deny it. “So, seeing all of that hurt? Tell me something, Scott. How you think she’s felt these past four years when she saw all of those posts on social media?”

“The fuck you talking about? What posts?” I shake my head.

“Let’s see.” He taps a finger over his pursed lips. “For starters, what about the post a month ago of you with a giant purple hickey on your chest. And, my personal favorite, the one where your face is buried between a woman’s thighs. Very classy, by the way.”

“Fuck!” I drag a hand over my face and release a loud groan. “For the record, I didn’t post those. I have my ex to thank for that.” He just gives me a look that says And? “She saw all of that, huh? She never mentioned them.”

“Those and many more. You haven’t exactly been discreet when it comes to your sex life.”

“Why the fuck are you telling me all of this? What’s in it for you?” I ask skeptically.

He tucks his hands in his pockets and cocks his head. “The mere satisfaction of seeing your face when you learned that Skylar Dennison isn’t the same naïve girl you remember from four years ago. She knows exactly who you are. She may still be hung up on you, but she hasn’t forgotten what you’re capable of. You proved that again tonight with that woman at the bar.”

“Wait a minute. Nothing happened with that woman. I was upset and was merely being polite. You’re telling me that Skylar still cares for me? Why would you be telling me this? I thought the two of you were together?” I ask, clearly confused by this strange turn of events. Here I thought this guy wanted to throttle me when it turns out he’s actually trying to help me. What the fuck?

A look of sadness passes over his face before he blows out a deep sigh. “No, man. Skylar and I are not an item. But if we were, I’d consider myself the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet. And I sure as fuck wouldn’t walk away and let someone else have her. The way you did. I love Skylar, a whole hell of a lot, but I’m not in love with her. She’s my best friend.” He walks toward me and claps a hand over my shoulder. “A friendly piece of advice for you. If you truly care about her, then it’s time you swallow your pride and tell her how you feel. She deserves that much. But if you’re only looking for a piece of ass, then you better fucking look elsewhere, because I swear to God, if you hurt her again, I’ll hop on a plane and kick your sorry ass all over that ice. Are we clear?” He extends his hand for me to shake. I stare at it for a moment before bringing my gaze to his.

“Crystal.” His handshake is firm, if not threatening, but I’m not scared. If anything, I’m grateful she has someone like Asher looking out for her. I watch closely as he descends the stairs and have a sneaking suspicion that granting me permission to pursue Skylar hurt him more than he’d be willing to admit.