Page 38 of Jagger
I shrugged unconcernedly and walked back over to finish pouring his glass of tea as I explained, “We used to share an apartment, and the cable bill was in his name. When I moved in here on my own last month, they were going to charge me a three-hundred-dollar deposit to connect it in my name. Brad told me just to keep it in his name and he transferred the service for me since they didn’t charge nearly as much for that.”
“What the fuck?” Cole practically exploded. “You used tolivewith him?”
I stilled, then nodded slowly, completely caught off guard by his reaction.
“And it didn’t occur to you to tell me that the guy you work with every goddamned day, the guy you claim is yourbest friend, is actually your ex-boyfriend?” he snarled.
“He’s not my – “ I started, only to be interrupted by a furious Cole, who had stormed over and slapped the envelope down on the counter so hard I jumped.
“Fine, he wasn’t your boyfriend. Your live-in lover, your fuckbuddy, whatever the hell you want to call him. Jesus, no wonder he calls you “baby doll”. How long were you two together, Molly?”
“Cole, he’s not – “
“How. Fucking. Long?” he asked through gritted teeth, then stood there clearly waiting for a response.
“Brad and I are just friends. Platonic friends,” I responded quietly, shaken to my core by this version of Cole that I hadn’t expected, and didn’t much care for.
“Yeah, right, now you are maybe, but how long do you think that will last before you’re fucking again?”
“I don’t know what the hell your problem is, Cole, but I don’t like the way you’re acting right now. Even if Brad and I had been more than friends at some point – which we haven’t – you have absolutely no right to be angry over something that would have happened long before you and I met,” I told him, suddenly furiously angry with him, and even angrier with myself for the tears that pricked the back of my eyes.
Cole just shook his head and took a step back. “You know what? You should have told me I’m just your rebound guy. I still would have fucked you, and you could have saved me a helluva lot of trouble trying to actually date you.”
I sucked in a shocked breath, unable to do more than stare at him as his hateful words registered. The ugly smirk on his face snapped me out of my momentary stupor.
“You need to leave,” I informed him icily, marching to the door and throwing it open.
“You sure you want me to leave right now, Angel? I mean, I’m already here. I don’t mind fucking you one last time, just to help you get over the guy. Or maybe you were just trying to make him jealous enough so he’d take you back, is that it?”
“Get out, Jagger! Just getthe fuckout of my house.” I was almost vibrating with anger as he glared at me for a beat, then stormed past me and stomped his way down the stairs. I barely resisted the urge to slam my door shut behind him.
I grabbed the wine glass from the counter and deliberated for about half a second before grabbing the bottle, too. I slumped down on the couch and drained the glass, then tried to decide if I should pour another one.
I was so shocked at his about-face, and absolutely livid over his crude offer tofuck me one last time.How dare he?How fucking dare he?
Spotting my phone on the charger next to the couch, I picked it up and texted Brad.
Me: The Twilight Zone continues. Jagger and I just got into a huge fight, and I threw the rat- bastard out of my apartment.
Moments later, my phone rang, and I dropped my head back against the couch and groaned. I should have known better than to text him right now.
“Don’t even ask,” I greeted him with a snarl.
“What the fuck did he do to you, Molly?” I could almost feel Brad’s concern through the phone line.
I spent the next five minutes recounting our fight, and by the time I’d finished, I was in tears and Brad and I were both cussing a blue streak.
“Why didn’t you just tell him I’m gay? It’s not like it’s a secret, Molls.”
I rolled my eyes in remembered annoyance at the way Jagger wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise. “First, he didn’t give me a chance. Second, it’s none of his damned business, and third, he should believe me when I tell him something, not need proof that I’m telling the truth!”
He offered to come over, and Drew chimed in wanting to come, too, but I finally managed to convince them both that I would be all right.
As soon as I hung up the phone, I went into my contacts and blocked Jagger’s number, then erased our chain of text messages. I would have deleted his number altogether, but I wasn’t sure if the blocking feature would still work then, and I didn’t want to take the chance that he would call or text, offering tofuck meagain.
I mustered up the energy to get up and stick the bags of Chinese food in the fridge, then poured myself another glass of wine.
Chapter 10
