Had she pushed him too far?
The way her life looked without Chris appeared dark and empty in her mind. Is that what she really wanted? Was saving herself from the possibility of getting hurt worth no life with him at all?
Terror washed over her, and she shivered. She licked her lips and chewed her bottom lip. If she went over to Chris’s right now and apologized, the worst that could happen is things wouldn’t work out in the long run. Instead of just losing him for good now, she might even hate him if they broke up down the road.
Chris would rather have her hate him than not give their relationship a shot. And so would she. It couldn’t hurt any more than what she felt right then. She couldn’t help but grin.
The drive to Chris’s only took five minutes. She lived above the bar, and there wasn’t anyone driving in their neighborhoods at three in the morning. His house was dark, so she almost missed the car parked behind his truck in the driveway. It was Ariel’s little red coupe.
****
“You mind going back to throwin’ darts, honey?”
Hannah narrowed her eyes at Roxy as she slammed another glass onto the bar. She met her glare with one that let her know she was on thin ice.
“Fine,” she mumbled. The dish towel smacked when she whacked her on the butt with it while walking away. She heard her yelp and chuckle. At least she was enjoying herself.
God, her arms felt heavy, and her feet dragged when she moved away from the bar. Seeing Ariel’s car parked in Chris’s driveway set too much devastation on her heart. She barely remembered the drive home, and the sun was high in the sky before she finally ran out of tears and succumbed to her exhaustion.
She was furious with Chris. The bastard proclaimed his love for her and that he wanted all or nothing just hours before shacking up with his ex. Not cool. So not cool.
It sucked that she blamed herself, too. She never should have considered a relationship. Even with Chris. It always ended in heartache. She’d seen it go down as she grew up and heard about it from customers on a regular basis.
What the hell had she been thinking? At least the night before she could blame the alcohol. Last night was all on her.
The jukebox sat silent against the wall. She strode over, reached into her pocket for change and selected a song. She nodded her head once as “Love Stinks” filled the bar.
College guys peppered the bar, and she swung her hips to the music as she weaved around the vacant tables to wipe them clean. On any other night, a few of the guys would hit on her and she’d consider the possibilities of whether or not they were worth a quick lay.
She must have had an aura on the outside as toxic as she felt on the inside. No one bothered her until she reached the last table. Someone placed their hands on her hips and stopped their movements.
Hannah whirled on her offender with her fists raised in the air thinking it was one of the dumb ass college kids. She dropped them, and her posture deflated. Chris stood facing her with his hands up in the air surrendering before the battle even started.
“Whoa, there, Trigger.” The corner of his mouth pulled up until she crossed her arms and stared him down. His lips drooped into a frown in no time.
Chris leaned closer. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
Seriously? The son-of-a-bitch shacked up with his ex last night just hours after proclaiming his love to her. He didn’t deserve time or privacy.
“Go away, Chris. Everything was said that needed to be said last night.” She brushed past him and wished the contact didn’t make her ache to feel his naked skin against hers. The tears stinging her eyes weren’t helping either.
He wrapped his hand around her arm, and she whipped it out of his grasp so fast her shoulder hurt. “Don’t you dare touch me.” She said a silent prayer of thanks that the calm in her voice didn’t betray the rage and grief swirling on her insides.
Chris stepped back and ran his
The way her life looked without Chris appeared dark and empty in her mind. Is that what she really wanted? Was saving herself from the possibility of getting hurt worth no life with him at all?
Terror washed over her, and she shivered. She licked her lips and chewed her bottom lip. If she went over to Chris’s right now and apologized, the worst that could happen is things wouldn’t work out in the long run. Instead of just losing him for good now, she might even hate him if they broke up down the road.
Chris would rather have her hate him than not give their relationship a shot. And so would she. It couldn’t hurt any more than what she felt right then. She couldn’t help but grin.
The drive to Chris’s only took five minutes. She lived above the bar, and there wasn’t anyone driving in their neighborhoods at three in the morning. His house was dark, so she almost missed the car parked behind his truck in the driveway. It was Ariel’s little red coupe.
****
“You mind going back to throwin’ darts, honey?”
Hannah narrowed her eyes at Roxy as she slammed another glass onto the bar. She met her glare with one that let her know she was on thin ice.
“Fine,” she mumbled. The dish towel smacked when she whacked her on the butt with it while walking away. She heard her yelp and chuckle. At least she was enjoying herself.
God, her arms felt heavy, and her feet dragged when she moved away from the bar. Seeing Ariel’s car parked in Chris’s driveway set too much devastation on her heart. She barely remembered the drive home, and the sun was high in the sky before she finally ran out of tears and succumbed to her exhaustion.
She was furious with Chris. The bastard proclaimed his love for her and that he wanted all or nothing just hours before shacking up with his ex. Not cool. So not cool.
It sucked that she blamed herself, too. She never should have considered a relationship. Even with Chris. It always ended in heartache. She’d seen it go down as she grew up and heard about it from customers on a regular basis.
What the hell had she been thinking? At least the night before she could blame the alcohol. Last night was all on her.
The jukebox sat silent against the wall. She strode over, reached into her pocket for change and selected a song. She nodded her head once as “Love Stinks” filled the bar.
College guys peppered the bar, and she swung her hips to the music as she weaved around the vacant tables to wipe them clean. On any other night, a few of the guys would hit on her and she’d consider the possibilities of whether or not they were worth a quick lay.
She must have had an aura on the outside as toxic as she felt on the inside. No one bothered her until she reached the last table. Someone placed their hands on her hips and stopped their movements.
Hannah whirled on her offender with her fists raised in the air thinking it was one of the dumb ass college kids. She dropped them, and her posture deflated. Chris stood facing her with his hands up in the air surrendering before the battle even started.
“Whoa, there, Trigger.” The corner of his mouth pulled up until she crossed her arms and stared him down. His lips drooped into a frown in no time.
Chris leaned closer. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
Seriously? The son-of-a-bitch shacked up with his ex last night just hours after proclaiming his love to her. He didn’t deserve time or privacy.
“Go away, Chris. Everything was said that needed to be said last night.” She brushed past him and wished the contact didn’t make her ache to feel his naked skin against hers. The tears stinging her eyes weren’t helping either.
He wrapped his hand around her arm, and she whipped it out of his grasp so fast her shoulder hurt. “Don’t you dare touch me.” She said a silent prayer of thanks that the calm in her voice didn’t betray the rage and grief swirling on her insides.
Chris stepped back and ran his
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