air in.”
She closed the door and leaned against it.
“Dressed for the library.” His gaze swept over her.
Zoey glanced down, face growing hot as she realized she’d left in jeans and a sweater and returned dressed like a tramp. She glanced towards the mirror, horrified by the sight of her runny makeup.
“Is this … is this because I freaked out yesterday?” she asked quietly, motioning to the boxes. “Because I really didn’t mean I wouldn’t marry you. Just that I needed –“
“To think, I know,” he said, anger in his voice. “That wasn’t the reason.”
“Then what, Eric? I thought things were going well until last night,” she said, confused. “What have I done? Whatever it is, I’m sure I can fix it.”
“If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?”
“Of course.”
“How many men?”
She stared at him. It was a loaded question. “You’ll have to be more specific.” As soon as the answer left her mouth, she knew it was the wrong one.
“So, it’s true.” A look of pain crossed his features. “You’ve been cheating on me.”
“No. Absolutely not,” she said quickly. “I never cheated on you.”
“What do you call this?” He whipped out his phone and handed it to her.
She stared at it then glanced down. It wasn’t the same dress. It was the one she’d woken up in yesterday morning, after the night she couldn’t remember. Someone snapped a picture of her making out with someone she didn’t remember, in the middle of a trendy club she didn’t recognize. She swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to explain it while struggling with why she didn’t remember the interaction.
“Tory recognized you and sent this to me.”
“Did she see what happened next?” Zoey asked.
“What?”
“I mean, this doesn’t prove I cheated on you. So I kissed some guy.”
“You kissed some guy.” He repeated in disbelief. “After lying to me about the library and not coming home at all last night.” His hands shook as he took back the phone. “I was ready to spend my life with you, Zoey.”
The hurt in his voice crushed her. “We still can,” she said. “I swear to you, Eric, I never slept with any of those guys.”
“Dear god,” he whispered, paling. “How many?”
“Well …” she tried to remember an approximate number. If she was the number one Cambion killer, that meant she’d beaten Vikki’s record of 560 in a year. Had she made out with all of them? Mostly, yes, she admitted.
“How many fucking men did you make out with while lying to me about being at the library or in class?” Eric roared.
Taken aback, she was quiet. He flung the phone and threw his head back, staring at the ceiling.
“A couple hundred,” she lied.
He gasped.
“Okay, maybe a few hundred. I really don’t remember.”
“Why were you … wasn’t I enough for you?” he asked, the heartbreak in his voice making her eyes water.
“Eric, I swear, it was business, not personal, and I never slept with any of them,” she insisted.
“Get out.” The words were a whisper.
“No, Eric, please let me explain. It has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I meant to tell you-“
“There is nothing you can say that will fix this,” he said. “Nothing, Zoey. There is no possible excuse you can give me as to why you were making out with other men! It’s completely unacceptable behavior!”
“I didn’t sleep with them.”
“I don’t care! You and I were a couple. That meant we weren’t sleeping around, making out with or kissing other people!”
She hadn’t really thought of it that way. She’d sworn not to cheat, which meant sleeping around. The rest…well, she took some pleasure in it. But it was still a job. Her throat tightened. She didn’t know what to say. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something.
“Get out. Please.” There were tears in his eyes, and the words were choked.
This was real. He was breaking up with her. For the first time this
She closed the door and leaned against it.
“Dressed for the library.” His gaze swept over her.
Zoey glanced down, face growing hot as she realized she’d left in jeans and a sweater and returned dressed like a tramp. She glanced towards the mirror, horrified by the sight of her runny makeup.
“Is this … is this because I freaked out yesterday?” she asked quietly, motioning to the boxes. “Because I really didn’t mean I wouldn’t marry you. Just that I needed –“
“To think, I know,” he said, anger in his voice. “That wasn’t the reason.”
“Then what, Eric? I thought things were going well until last night,” she said, confused. “What have I done? Whatever it is, I’m sure I can fix it.”
“If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?”
“Of course.”
“How many men?”
She stared at him. It was a loaded question. “You’ll have to be more specific.” As soon as the answer left her mouth, she knew it was the wrong one.
“So, it’s true.” A look of pain crossed his features. “You’ve been cheating on me.”
“No. Absolutely not,” she said quickly. “I never cheated on you.”
“What do you call this?” He whipped out his phone and handed it to her.
She stared at it then glanced down. It wasn’t the same dress. It was the one she’d woken up in yesterday morning, after the night she couldn’t remember. Someone snapped a picture of her making out with someone she didn’t remember, in the middle of a trendy club she didn’t recognize. She swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to explain it while struggling with why she didn’t remember the interaction.
“Tory recognized you and sent this to me.”
“Did she see what happened next?” Zoey asked.
“What?”
“I mean, this doesn’t prove I cheated on you. So I kissed some guy.”
“You kissed some guy.” He repeated in disbelief. “After lying to me about the library and not coming home at all last night.” His hands shook as he took back the phone. “I was ready to spend my life with you, Zoey.”
The hurt in his voice crushed her. “We still can,” she said. “I swear to you, Eric, I never slept with any of those guys.”
“Dear god,” he whispered, paling. “How many?”
“Well …” she tried to remember an approximate number. If she was the number one Cambion killer, that meant she’d beaten Vikki’s record of 560 in a year. Had she made out with all of them? Mostly, yes, she admitted.
“How many fucking men did you make out with while lying to me about being at the library or in class?” Eric roared.
Taken aback, she was quiet. He flung the phone and threw his head back, staring at the ceiling.
“A couple hundred,” she lied.
He gasped.
“Okay, maybe a few hundred. I really don’t remember.”
“Why were you … wasn’t I enough for you?” he asked, the heartbreak in his voice making her eyes water.
“Eric, I swear, it was business, not personal, and I never slept with any of them,” she insisted.
“Get out.” The words were a whisper.
“No, Eric, please let me explain. It has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I meant to tell you-“
“There is nothing you can say that will fix this,” he said. “Nothing, Zoey. There is no possible excuse you can give me as to why you were making out with other men! It’s completely unacceptable behavior!”
“I didn’t sleep with them.”
“I don’t care! You and I were a couple. That meant we weren’t sleeping around, making out with or kissing other people!”
She hadn’t really thought of it that way. She’d sworn not to cheat, which meant sleeping around. The rest…well, she took some pleasure in it. But it was still a job. Her throat tightened. She didn’t know what to say. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something.
“Get out. Please.” There were tears in his eyes, and the words were choked.
This was real. He was breaking up with her. For the first time this
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