2
Taylor
Iglared at Tiffany as she made her way through the bleachers toward me. “Hey you,” shesaid.
I snorted, shaking my head and moving to walk past her. She grabbed my elbow, stopping me mid step. “Tay,wait.”
“Don’t,” I said. My voice was thick with warning. Over ten years, and I still couldn’t talk to her — couldn’t forgive her. It might seem childish. Like a girl cheating on you should be something you shrug off once you turn thirty. But what if she had cheated on you with ten different guys from your varsity team? Or if one of the men she was continuously cheating on you with was your own fucking father? Was I supposed to just move on from that? My dad had managed to betray me in every way possible… this was only the icing on thecake.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “What do you want me to say? I’ve apologized so many times. I was young andstupid.”
I nodded. “Yep. Except… I was also young and stupid. And yet, I never,everwould have done that to you. Or anyone.” I took another step, my boots crunching against the frosted grass. Each blade was encased in an icy cover that shattered beneath my feet. I stopped myself this time as I heard her quiet sniffling behind me and I winced. I could never stand the sight or sound of a woman crying. I sighed and turned back to her. I wasn’t the same brokenhearted guy from senior year. Sure, I didn’t want to be friends or anything, but we were adults. It was time for us both to move on. “Tiff, that day I walked in on you and my father, it set off a chain of events—no, not events…confessionsfrom my dad and all my so-called friends that you had cheated on me with, that irrevocably changed my life.” She peered up at me, moisture spilling over her big, green eyes. I gave a humorless laugh, looking up to the cloudy sky. “And my dad is a bastard. I have no doubt he took advantage of you, even though you were legal and eighteen.” Eighteen. The magical age where society deems you an adult, even though most of us still had no clue what the fuck we were doing at thatage.
She blinked and nibbled her bottom lip causing some of the berry colored gloss to slide across her front tooth. “But…you still can’t forgive me? After all thistime?”
I sighed. Could I? It had been years since I stepped foot in Maple Grove. And it was days before Christmas. If I was ever going to make amends, now would be the time, right? I swallowed. “Sure, Tiff,” I managed to say. “I forgive you.” Even though I said the words, I didn’t feel them in my heart. I wasn’t actually sure if I forgave her or not, but maybe that didn’t matter. She looked so sad. And I hated causing anyone that kind of sadness, even someone who caused me so muchpain.
She smiled, her wet eyes now sultry and lust-filled. “Yeah?” She took a step closer. “You’re all I’ve thought about for twelve years, Tay,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and tilted her chin, lipsparted.
I grunted, pushing her to arm’s length just before her lips grazed mine. “What the fuck,Tiffany?”
Her eyes darted wildly between mine. “What’s your problem? You were giving me all thesignals.”
I let loose a bitter laugh and shook my head. “Signals? What fucking signals? The fact that I was about to walk away from you before I pitied you enough to forgiveyou?”
“Pity?” she sneered. “Oh, sweetie.No onepitiesme.”
My gaze dipped to her left ring finger, which was adorned with a big diamond and a wedding band. I’d heard she had gotten married a few years ago and I remember feeling sorry for the poor bastard. But just a few moments ago? I thought she might have in fact grown up and grown out of herbullshit.
I snorted, shook my head, and turned to leave. All I had wanted was a few minutes of peace on the football field that had started it all for me. But Tiffany ruined that, too. She ruined damn near everything, didn’t she? I turned when I was a few feet away and called to her from where I stood. “So, when you said you were sorry, what you meant was that you were sorry you got caught, isn’tit?”
She folded her arms and grunted a puff of air past her berry lips. “I wanted us to be together. It was just too early for us. We needed to sow someoats.”
I pointed at her wedding band. “Is that still your excuse? What’ll you tell your husband someday when he catches you cheating? Because, Tiffany… hewillcatch you.” It’s just a matter oftime.
I didn’t let her respond and stomped off toward the parking lot where my F450 was parked. At the edge of where grass met pavement, I froze. Paige Williams was about fifty feet from me, walking side by side with DaveBolton.
Paige Williams. I gulped. I hadn’t seen her since senior year. My God, she looked as gorgeous as ever. My dick stirred against the denim of my jeans and I swallowed a groan. That kiss we shared inGuys and Dollswas unlike any I’d had in my life. Even still to this day. We had kissed dozens of times in rehearsals. But it always felt off. Until one day, Paige found me in the dressing rooms, stormed in and without a word, grabbed my face and planted one on me. I was stunned. So stunned I hadn’t even kissed her back. “There,” she said. “Can we stop being so freaking awkward now in our stage kisses?” Then she turned on her heels and walked quickly out of the dressingroom.
I followed her out, grabbed at her wrist and pulled her into my body, wrapping her lips with mine and sliding my tongue just along the seam of her mouth. If she wanted a surprise kiss, then I sure as hell was going to give her one. I finished the kiss, her back nudged against the lockers and we both stood there, panting. Her lips were wet and swollen, her small breasts brushing my chest with each heaving breath, and I brushed a bit of her dark blonde hair out of her face. “There,” I had said. “If we’re going to kiss, at least give me a chance to kiss youback.”
Every show thereafter, our chemistry was onpoint.
No, not on point.Onfire.
And now here she was, fifty feet from me and looking as gorgeous as ever. Her hair was the same dark shade of blonde and now dotted with snow that melted the moment it touched her head. And Dave’s shoulder brushed against hers with eachstep.
A lump lodged in my throat. Were they dating? Was she married? I couldn’t help but wonder why the hell she settled back here in Maple Grove? Last I heard, she had a full scholarship to Northwestern and was well on her way to an acting career. She and I were cited as the most likely to befamous.
I waited until they had passed by, gotten in their cars and left, all the while ignoring the burning jealousy in my gut. Then again, he put her into her car without so much as a peck on the cheek. Just a little wave as she backed out of her parking spot and turned left out of thelot.
I closed my eyes and as I heard Dave’s car engine start and the crunch of tire on gravel, I stepped out from beside the bush, walking over to mytruck.
Even if they are dating… Dave was a nice enough guy. Sure, he was one of the guys on my team that Tiffany had cheated on me with. Not cool. But he was also the first guy to come confess to me. To apologize. He was the person who opened my eyes to who Tiffany reallywas.
Despite my anger at Tiffany, I did believe a lot of the betrayals were the result of teenagers being young and stupid. But Tiffany cheating on me that many times? With so many guys? That went beyond normal teenage hormone stupidity. That waspathological.
Paige could do a lot worse than DaveBolton.
