More Than I Wanted by Ava Catori

again. She came crawling back to me, since
you apparently weren’t man enough to keep her.”
    “Nick,
stop,” I said, not wanting him to make matters any worse. My
heart was breaking, and I desperately wanted to reach out and hold
him, tell him I still loved him, but I knew it was too late.
    Austin
shook his head, “Disgusting.” He turned and started to
walk away.
    I
couldn’t help my reaction, it all happened so fast. I jumped
up, “Austin, wait…”
    He
put his hand up, “Don’t bother,” he said and walked
out.
    Nick
was somewhere between amused and angry. “Are you using me to
get back at lover boy?”
    I
shook my head. “I’m just trying to move forward.” I
dropped my head. “Can we just leave?”
    Nick
shook his head, “You’re something else, princess.”
His tone was less than delightful.
    “Forget
it, I’ll get a cab,” I said standing up.
    “Whoa,
hold your horses; I didn’t say I wouldn’t take you home.
Just chill out, relax a little bit. When I finish my dinner, I’ll
take you home.”
    “Thank
you,” I said quietly, staring at the food on my plate. I had no
appetite left. Everything inside of me felt like it curled up and
died. Seeing Austin again brought it all back, made my wounds feel
fresh, and there was nothing I could do but sit it out and wait to
heal.
    “I’m
going to give you a little bit of advice,” he started, “not
that you’ll take it.”
    “Great,”
I said rolling my eyes.
    “Give
it time, you’ll heal. Look at me, I felt the sting of our break
up, and it took me awhile to move on, but I did. Well, until you
called me, and I’ll admit, I was hoping for a little booty call
after dinner, I mean, we do have some chemistry in the sack,”
he went on, “but I see now that wasn’t your intention.”
    I
looked at him and said nothing.
    “I’m
not the enemy. You called me,” he reminded. “I’m
just saying you’ll get over him, it just takes time.”
    I
excused myself to the bathroom and sat in a stall crying quietly. I
had to get it out of my system, everything hurt, emotionally and
physically in this particular moment. I felt like someone seared me
with a dagger, and stuck their hand into my body, yanking out my
heart.
    After
a few minutes, I collected myself and went back to the table. The
waitress was dropping off the check, and I knew I’d be out of
there soon. I had to get home, had to be alone and think. Not like
thinking would change the obvious, but I needed to clear my mind. I
was in a dark place.
    Driving
me home, Nick listed a handful of reasons why sex would make this all
better. I thanked him for his time, but told him I just wasn’t
feeling it. Amazingly, he didn’t try to push himself on me, and
wasn’t a total ass. He simply said that he was around if I
wanted to give things another try in the future.
    With
my key in the door, I knew I’d be able to unwind in the privacy
of my home. All I wanted was to be alone. Closing the door behind me,
I tossed my keys and purse on the table. Kicking my shoes off as I
walked through the living room, I found my way to my bed and stripped
my clothes off. Climbing into bed, I snuggled in and closed my eyes.
The pain was so real, so excruciating, and I couldn’t turn it
off. My mind wouldn’t let up, that first look between us, his
coming over, walking out…and then he was gone. I did this,
there was nobody else to blame but me.
    The
knock came the following morning. I’d slept in, and it was
easily past eleven. I quickly dressed, not knowing who to expect.
Dragging myself to the door, I checked out the peep hole. What the
hell, I wasn’t expecting anyone. I hoped Nick wasn’t back
looking for last night’s sex, because I was in no mood.
    My
heart stopped. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Chapter 14

    “Can
I come in?”
    I
nodded, not saying anything.
    Austin
walked past me and headed to the living room. “Is he here? I
didn’t see his car.”
    I
shook my head no, “We didn’t…he