Crazy Girl(70)

“Dude, I get you’re in a bad frame of mind, but maybe there’s a little silver lining here.”

Twisting my neck, I looked at him. “What’s that?”

“You were just bitching not that long ago that you didn’t have any time to really spend with her.” He shrugged as if it was all so clear. “Well, now you have a lot of time. Why not go spend some of it with your woman, instead of avoiding her and hiding out in misery?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed that he had a good point. “Where the hell did all this smart thinking come from?” I jested.

“Shit, man,” he chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I guess I’m getting wise in my old age or something.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to look at it. It was a text from Hannah. Her text, though seemingly friendly, sounded worried, and I knew she was probably freaking out.

“Aw, hell,” I mumbled to myself. Kegs was right. With all this time off, it was the perfect opportunity for me to really spend some time with her. I needed to see her. I wanted to see her.

“You’re right, man,” I told him. “I’m going to go see her.”

“Just show up,” he told me. “Chicks love surprises and shit.”

He helped me carry my gear in and put it away. After he left, I took a quick shower, threw on some decent clothes, and climbed in my truck. I was going to see her. I wanted to surprise her. I realized there was a chance she might not be home, but I’d wait. I just wanted to do something to make her see I cared…I was just dense sometimes. I didn’t do well with sharing feelings.

By the time I got to her house, it was ten at night. The house was dark, seemingly shut down for the night, except for the window to the right on the upper floor where a light appeared to be on. I assumed this was her bedroom. I pulled my truck in her driveway and parked beside her car. Worried knocking on her door would startle her, I decided to call. It had rung twice when a car slowly pulled up in the driveway behind where I was parked, the sound of gravel crackling under its tires.

“Who in the hell is showing up here this late?” I grumbled to myself as I ended the call. Of course, I had just shown up this late, but that was different. I was her boyfriend.

Whoa. Slow down, Wren. Where in the hell had that thought come from? Hannah and I had not even broached the subject of being exclusive. My hands tightened around my steering wheel as I realized she might be seeing someone else. Was this another guy showing up to see her? It surprised me how much the thought of that really pissed me off. Maybe we hadn’t had a talk about seeing other people, but I wasn’t seeing anyone. If it was a dude, he was blocking me in and hadn’t bothered to get out of his car yet, keeping his headlights on and shining though my back glass. Dick.

It’s not like I could just back out.

“Shit,” I huffed as I turned my truck off and climbed out. Might as well take the bull by the horns. I came here to see Hannah. I wanted to see Hannah. But if she was seeing other people, that was something I wanted to know. It was something I needed to know. This wasn’t exactly how I would’ve liked to find out, but I did show up unannounced and uninvited. As soon as I stepped out of my truck someone rounded the bed coming toward me.

“Hi,” Hannah slurred causing me to freeze. Her long hair was tied up in some kind of messy bun that looked like she’d done it that way on purpose, and it actually looked pretty. She was wearing a pink summer dress that hit her thighs in just the right place to where it was not too short or too high. In the car, I made out a man in the lighting from his cellphone. It looked like he was trying to access his GPS. She was on a date. The guy was dropping her off. What the fuck? My temper flared, that pesky little thing about myself that I owned and was working on reached up and seized my backbone.

“You were on a date,” I snapped. Not a question. A statement. The words had left my mouth before I’d had a chance to think about it.

Hannah stopped in her tracks and stared at me. Even in the limited lighting, I could tell she was somewhat intoxicated, but even in her state she’d heard the anger in my tone. The look of shock faded from her features, and her eyes narrowed.

“You barely speak to me for days, then show up unannounced, and now you want to talk?”

Okay.

She had a point.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I was wrong, no matter how I sliced this shit pie, but…she was on a freaking date. That was…technically none of my business, but I didn’t care. The thought of her with another guy made me want to break something. Or someone. Or both.

“I guess if you won’t answer me, I’ll ask him.” Charging toward his car, Hannah reached to stop me, but I moved past her before she had a chance. At the driver’s side door, I rapped my knuckles loudly on the window causing the guy with square black glasses to jerk his head up. He had a nerdy look to him, thin and pale. He didn’t look like her type, or anywhere near her league.

“Wren, stop,” Hannah groaned.

Wide-eyed, the guy rolled his window down a little, enough to hear me but not enough to allow me access to him. “You go on a date with her tonight?” I threw out an arm pointing at Hannah.

“Uh…”

“Wren, you’re being ridiculous,” Hannah exclaimed.

“Did you?” I asked him. “You’ve been seeing her?”