Tom pushes Aurora off of him, and he’s out of that chair and advancing on me. “Lyla, this isn’t how it looks.”
Pulling up his pants, Dex moves quickly toward me. “Ly, this isn’t how it looks.”
My lower lip trembles.
Tom stops before me. “Lyla.”
All the pain and fury I’ve kept pent-up for the last eleven months explodes out of me. My hand is moving before I realize it, and I slap Tom, hard, across the face. The sound of the slap echoes in the deafening silence.
“Fuck you!” I spit. Hand stinging like a bitch, I spin on my heel and run out of there.
“Lyla!” Tom calls after me.
Nothing is stopping me from getting away from him, not even these damn heels, and I keep running until I find myself in a portioned-off section backstage.
Seeing no people around, I stop and back up against the wall. I bend over, putting my hands on my thighs, as I try to catch my breath.
And deal with the agonizing pain in my chest.
Jesus, this hurts.
Bad.
I can’t even determine if this hurts more than the last time.
God, listen to me…the last time.
How many times does this have to happen before I learn?
Motherfucking Tom Carter. How could I have been so stupid to trust a mut like him to be faithful?
I really must be the dumbest bitch in the world.
My eyes are full of tears, but I won’t blink. I won’t cry one goddamn tear over that bastard.
I catch a sob in my throat, and a sneaky tear slides down my cheek.
“There you are!” Tom’s voice comes at me loud and hard.
I jerk up like I’ve been shot. “Don’t you come another step closer!” I put my hand out between us, a weak attempt at keeping him away. I know Tom, and nothing will stop him when he wants near me.
He moves quickly, eating up the space between us. “I’m not going anywhere until you hear what I have to say.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want to hear another word out of your lying mouth!”
Then, he’s before me, and his hands are around my upper arms.
“Get the fuck off me!” I cry, trying to get his deceitful hands off me. I can’t bear him touching me. “If you wanted to have sex with someone else, you could have at least had the courtesy to let me know, so I could get the fuck out of dodge. Or was that it? You wanted to keep having sex with me and her…and who else, Tom?” I’m yelling. I’m near hysterical right now.
It’s a good thing loud music is playing. Otherwise, we’d be attracting a crowd with all our yelling.
“Jesus, Lyla!” He thrusts his hands through his hair. He stares back at me with fear in his eyes. “I don’t want to have sex with Aurora or anyone else.”
“Bullshit!”
“Seriously.” He grabs me again. “You need to listen to me. I didn’t touch her. The only time my hands were anywhere near her was when I pushed her off me. I was there, looking for you. She said that you just left to get a drink, and you were coming back. Said you wouldn’t be long and that I should wait. I wasn’t sure because I know what she’s like—”
“You’ve slept with her before?”
He lets out a sigh, releasing me, his eyes dim. “Yes.”
I ignore the pain that the confirmation forces into my chest. “When?”
His eyes meet mine. “Does it matter?”
“Yes, it matters! More so now because…because I need to know if you’ve had sex with her while you’ve been with me. If you’ve had sex with…anyone…since…me.” My voice peters off at his sharp expression.
“There’s been no one since you and I started sleeping together. I had sex with Aurora a few years ago. It was unmemorable and not something I would ever want to repeat. Stupidly, I made the decision to wait for you with her in there.”
He ducks his head, stepping into my space. “You never replied to my text…after she kissed me in front of you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, so I went to the trailer to find you. I literally just sat down, and I was checking my cell. The next thing I knew, she was half-naked and on me. Then, you were there.” He stares deep into my eyes. “It was that quick, Ly. I didn’t get a chance to react.”
I look at him, assessing him. I actually think I believe him.
“And if you had…the chance to react?”
He moves closer, so close that I have to tilt my head back. The scent of him overwhelms me. I feel my body teeter.
“Then, I would have pushed her off, told her it wasn’t happening…because I’m with someone…you.” His hands cup my face. “I made an error in judgment, waiting there with her, but that was my only crime. I didn’t betray you. I wouldn’t. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a cheat.” His fingers brush my cheek tenderly. “This arrangement…this commitment I’ve made to you—to most people, I know that exclusive fuck buddies might sound like a laughable commitment, but to me, it’s big. It matters. You matter…to me. I care about you.”
He cares about me.
I curl my fingers around his wrist, closing my eyes, as I soak up his words. “I care about you, too,” I admit softly.
Emotions overwhelming me, a lone tear runs down my cheek, and Tom catches it.
“I would never willingly do anything to hurt you, Ly.”
I lift my hand and place it against his red cheek. The cheek I hit.
I’ve never hit anyone before, not even Dex after catching him with Chad.
So, why did I react like that from seeing Tom with her?
“I’m sorry I hit you.” I give him a sad smile.
“Don’t,” he says roughly. “No sorry, no regrets.”
Then, he’s kissing me. But there’s something in this kiss, something different…something more.
Tom wraps his arms around me, holding me tight.
I melt into him.
Lips close to mine, he says, “Would it be inappropriate to say that I really need to be inside you right now?”
A smile takes over my lips. “Since when have you cared about being inappropriate?”
“Good point. Come with me.”
He leads me by the hand. We stop a little farther on by a large stage panel marked, Entry Point. Wear Hard Hats Upon Entering. Employees Only.
Tom lifts up a latch and pulls open the panel, which I now know is a door.
A door which will take us under the stage. The stage that currently has a band performing on it and a few thousand people watching out front.