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“Okay. Well then, what did you need?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,
Heather. You were so upset when you left, and you never did tell me
why you were crying. I, um…I just wanted to make sure you were
okay. That’s all.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I’m fine.”

“Who are you with?”

“I don’t think it’s any of your business, do
you?”

“Heather, listen, I know you aren’t with
Ellie or Ari. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t alone and that
you’re okay.”

“I happen to be perfectly fine. I’m on a
date. Then, her voice sounded farther away. “I’ll be right there,
Jerry, in just one second.”

Jerry? Who the fuck is Jerry?

“You’re really out on a date? You move fast,
Heather.” I was so pissed off that I couldn’t even think
straight.

“Me? How are you enjoying your dinner with
Lynda?”

“We’re about to move onto
dessert.”
Fuck.
The second that came out, I regretted it.

“You’re an asshole.”

I went to apologize, but then I realized she
had already hung up. I wanted to scream and just throw my fucking
phone. My hands were shaking, and I couldn’t stop seeing Heather
dancing with that guy from last night. I turned back to my truck
and got in. I looked over at Lynda sitting there, smiling at
me.

“Do you want to go back to Austin with me
tonight?”

“I thought you would never ask.”

***

I dropped Lynda off, so she could pack up her
stuff. I told her I would be back as soon as I could.

When I walked into Jeff and Ari’s place, Jeff
was sitting at the kitchen island. He looked like shit.

“Hey, dude, how is Ari feeling?”

“I think she’s feeling better.”

Fuck.
“Jeff you need to talk?”

“It’s my fault this happened, Josh. It’s my
fucking fault. I walked away from her…the one person I vowed to
never walk away from. I just left her while I ran after some damn
lying bitch. If I had just given her a few minutes of my time, I
don’t think I would have left. I would have stayed, and.”

“Jeff, stop doing this to yourself. You can’t
change what happened. It all happened for a reason. I know you want
to place the blame on yourself, but, dude, you can’t. You didn’t
know Ari was going to tell you she was pregnant, and you didn’t
know Rebecca was playing you for a fool.”

Jeff snapped his head
up.
Oh shit, I should really choose my
words more carefully.

“A fool? Is that what everyone thinks I
am?”

Motherfucker.
I didn’t need this. “No, Jeff, that’s not what I
meant. You were torn, and I get it. I would have probably done the
same thing, Jeff. How were you supposed to know that she was
plotting against you? It’s all going to work out. I know it will.
You and Ari are meant for each other, Jeff. Y’all will find a way
to fix this shit. I promise.”

Jeff put his head in his
hands and let out a sigh.
Man, this guy
needs to just catch a break.

“Hey, um…I was going to head back to Austin
tonight. I figured y’all need your privacy, and with Heather
leaving…”

“What the hell is going on with you and
Heather, Josh? I feel like I’m looking at an earlier version of Ari
and me, dude. Just get it the fuck over with and tell her you love
her.”

I started to laugh. “I already told her that
I loved her. She seems to think that I’ll never be able to stay
true to her. I guess I can’t blame her, but fuck…what does a guy
have to do to prove he can change?”

Just then, my cell phone
went off with a text. Lynda had texted me with a picture of her in
a fucking blue lace bra and matching panties.
Fuck me.

“Actually change, Josh.”

“What?” I looked back up at Jeff.

“You want to prove to her that you’ve
changed? Then you’ve got to actually change, dude. I’ve seen that
look on your face before. You’re gonna hook up with someone
tonight, aren’t you?”

“I don’t need a lecture from you, Jeff.
Heather’s made it very damn clear that she doesn’t want to be with
me. Shit, she’s on a date tonight for Christ’s sake! What I am
supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for her? Fuck that. I’ve
waited long enough for something I’ll never have.”

“Wait. How do you know she’s on a date? She
just left a few hours ago.”

“I called her. I wanted to make sure she got
to Austin okay, and she told me she was on a date. I even heard her
talk to the guy.”

“You don’t think she might have just been
saying that to get you fired up?”

“Why the hell would she do that? Listen,
she’s moved on, and now, I am, too. I gotta go, Jeff. Lynda is
waiting for me.”

“Oh fuck, dude. You’re gonna sleep with
Gunner’s cousin? The man code, bro.”

“It’s his cousin, not his damn sister. Fuck
the man code.”

***

I packed up my shit and headed back into the
kitchen. Ari was sitting at the table while Jeff was pouring her
some tea. I walked over and kissed her on the head.

“How are you doing, babe?”

“Fine, thank you. Why are you leaving? You
don’t have to leave, Josh. Please know that.”

“I know, hon. I need to get back to Austin.
My dad is making some office furniture for a lawyer’s office, and I
really want to help him with it. I can’t waste my whole summer
away. Time to get a real job, ya know?”

“Okay, come back this weekend if you
want.”

“Thanks, y’all. Take it easy and let me know
if you need anything.”

***

By the time I picked up Lynda and we headed
into Austin, my head was pounding, and my heart was racing. Lynda
was talking away like a nervous Nellie. She didn’t even hesitate
when I asked if she wanted to go back to my place.

The sooner I fucked her, the better I would
be…..

And the faster I would get over Heather.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-NINE

HEATHER

Jerry just kept talking and talking until he
finally asked if I was even listening to him.

“Oh yeah, I’m so sorry, Jer. One of my best
friends lost her baby yesterday, and I guess I just have her on my
mind. I kind of walked out left her. Not the best thing for a
friend to do, but.”

“No worries at all, Heather. You’ve seemed a
little upset since you took that call. Was that her?”

The moment I ran into Jerry at Starbucks, and
he asked if I wanted to grab a late dinner, I knew I was doing the
wrong thing. I needed to get Josh out of my head though. Then he
called, and I’d just blurted out that I was on a date. I guess
having dinner with your cousin’s best friend wasn’t really a date,
but Josh didn’t need to know that.

“No, it wasn’t her. It was a guy. A friend
who just wanted to make sure I got back to Austin okay.”

“Do you call all your guy friends assholes,
Heather?” Jerry asked with a smile.

I let out a laugh and shook my head. Jerry
went back to eating his burger while I took a good look at him. He
had blond hair and green eyes. They were nothing like Josh’s eyes
though. His height was about five-eleven and he was built. He
played baseball for UT, and he was dressed in a UT T.shirt and
shorts. He was wearing his UT baseball cap backwards. If Ari were
here, she would probably say he looked very fuckable. She loved it
when guys wore their caps backward. I hated to admit it, but I
loved it, too, especially when Josh did it which was damn near all
the time.

I let my eyes travel up and down Jerry. He
sure was attractive, and he had a killer smile that made my stomach
drop.

Jerry wasn’t as good-looking as Josh, he was
damn near close to it.

We talked for a few hours about nothing and
everything. It was nice having a simple conversation. I also didn’t
have to worry about if he was going to check out the waitress or if
she was going to slip him her number. Josh had never done that
though. At least, I’d never noticed it.

Josh.
I wondered if he was with Lynda. I decided I needed to check
up on Ari. I looked at the time, and it was almost ten.

I sent her a text
message:
How are you?

Ari:
I’m reading. Jeff is passed out with his head on my
lap.

I had to smile to myself. Thank God Jeff was
not the father in that whole Rebecca-baby drama. I sent her another
text and asked if I could give her a quick call. I excused myself
as I walked outside of Mighty Fine Burgers to call Ari.

“Hey, girl. How was the trip back to Austin?”
Ari said.

“It was fine. I ran into an old friend. Do
you remember Jerry Ross? He’s my Cousin David’s best friend. Plays
baseball for UT.”

“Oh yeah, the one who always wears his damn
baseball cap backward. Yeah, I remember him!” Ari said with a small
giggle.

I was sure she was trying not to hurt her
side or wake up Jeff.

“I’m having a late dinner…well, burgers with
him.”

“Really? Huh,” Ari said.

I heard her tell Jeff to go back to
sleep.

“What do you mean, huh? I’m
not allowed to have dinner with anyone?” I knew I sounded like a
bitch.
What is with the attitude from
her?

“I don’t mean anything by it, Heather. Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph, between you and Josh, I swear.”

“What about Josh? Is he there or still out to
dinner with Lynda?”

When Ari didn’t say anything, my heart
started to pound.

“Is he there Ari?”

“Um, no. He actually left a few hours ago to
head back to Austin.”

“Really? Did he go back to Austin alone?” Why
I even cared was beyond me. I did this to myself. I pushed him away
one too many times, and now, I had a feeling I was about to pay for
it.

“I’m not really one hundred percent sure on
that.”

“I can always tell when you’re not being
honest, you know.”

“I overheard Josh telling Jeff that Lynda was
going back to Austin with him.”

Oh. My. God.
I put my hand up to mouth when almost threw
up.
He’s coming back to Austin with
Lynda.

“Heather, baby, are you okay?”

“I have to go.”

“Heather, wait! Talk to me. I’m so damn
confused with what’s going on between you two. You told him to move
on. Baby. Did you mean it? If not, Heather, call him. Call him
right now before he does something I know you’re both going to
regret.”

“No, you’re right. I told him to move on, and
clearly, that is what he’s doing. I can’t blame him for that.
Listen, sweets, I just wanted to check up on you and see how you’re
feeling. Take it easy and give Jeff a hug and kiss for me, will
you? I’ve got to run. Jerry is waiting on me.”

“Heather, please call me if you need to talk,
and please call Josh, baby.”

“There’s no reason for me to call Josh. I’ll
talk to you later.”

As I leaned up against the
building, the tears were building in my eyes. I felt so sick to my
stomach, and all I wanted to do was scream.
Am I really going to just let him go that easily?
Looking down at my phone, I found Josh’s number. I
looked back into the restaurant, and Jerry was cleaning off our
table while talking to the girl who had been working behind the
counter. It looked like she was handing him something. I was sure
the place was fixin’ to close any second now.

I looked back down at my phone and hit
dial.

Then, she answered.

“Hey, Heather! Is everything okay? This is
Lynda.”

I was so stunned that I couldn’t even think
of any words to form in my mouth.

“Um...”

“Heather, are you okay?”

I could hear the satisfaction in her voice,
knowing she had caught me off-guard.

“Yes, I am. I must have dialed Josh’s number
by mistake. I was trying to…trying to call Ari to see how she’s
doing.”

“Oh, okay. Well we literally just walked into
Josh’s apartment, and he’s taking a shower. So should I let him
know you called?”

What a fucking bitch. I
hate her
. “Ah, no. Like I said, I meant to
call Ari, so no, that’s fine. Thanks, Lynda. Enjoy
yourself.”

“Oh, believe me, we intend to have fun
tonight…if you know what I mean.”

I just hung up. I leaned over, and the next
thing I knew, I felt Jerry’s hands on my back.

“Heather! Oh my gosh, are you going to get
sick?”

I couldn’t breathe.
He’s going to sleep with her? Oh god.
I pushed him away, and now, he was going to sleep
with her.
I. Can’t. Breathe.

I looked up at Jerry. His
face was filled with concern. He truly seemed to be worried about
me.
Maybe he’s the one?
I didn’t think I’d ever have to worry about him
leaving me. He didn’t seem like the type of guy who would play
around.

“Jerry, I don’t think I can drive. Can you
please take me home?”

Jerry smiled at me and leaned down to pick me
up. As he carried me to his BMW, he whispered in my ear,

“I’ll do anything for you, baby.”

***

The light shining through
the window was killing my head. I pulled the pillow over my face
and let out a moan.
Oh god.
I hadn’t felt this bad in months.
Holy hell, how much did I have to drink?
I started to play back the evening in my head.
Jerry had stopped and picked up some beer and the fixing’s to make
Italian Margaritas. I remembered drinking…a lot…laughing...kissing
and.

I sat up in bed so fast that I thought I was
going to puke. I looked down to see that I was naked.