She might be a little less emotional, although the anger still burned like acid in her gut, but that didn’t mean she was willing to test her limits. Avoiding his calls had been hard enough. Thankfully he hadn’t bothered to stop by because she was positive she wouldn’t have been able to ignore him then and she wasn’t about to let him see what he’d reduced her to.
However, she’d known deep down that Alex wasn’t up for grabs when it came to his heart, and this had proven that point. She just wished it didn’t have to be quite so painful.
“What time?” Glancing at the clock on her computer, she wondered how much later they could push it. It was closing in on five o’clock.
“Let’s meet at eight. Drinks. Dancing.” Sam said. “We’ll have fun.”
“Is Sierra going?” Ashleigh wanted as many people as possible in the event she had to sneak out. She didn’t want to leave her friend alone, just in case.
“Yes.” She confirmed. “So are Logan, Luke and Cole.”
Great. One big happy love fest. Just what Ashleigh needed to top off a not so impressive week.
“Alright.” She found herself giving in. Staring at the walls was beginning to wear on her nerves and though she might run into Alex, at least she could get out of the house for a while.
“Perfect. See you there.” Sam disconnected the call and Ashleigh clung to it like a lifeline.
She really should have said no.
~~*~~
When Logan called to invite Alex to Club Destiny, he’d been hesitant, but if there was a possibility that Ashleigh would be there, he was going. Come hell or high water. Or Jessie.
For two days, Jessie had been driving him crazy. She was crying all the time, giving him one sob story after another about this or that and Alex was growing increasingly more irritated with her.
He tried to be friendly, but she was refusing to go home and Alex needed her to get back on her feet. His white knight days were coming to an end. At least when it came to rescuing his ex-wife.
She was part of the reason Alex had only tried calling Ashleigh, not going to her house insisting she talk to him.
Now it would look like he was trying to save face and there would be no way to explain Jessie’s presence at his house. Only a select few even knew about his long ago sham of a marriage, and Alex tried to keep it that way. Logan knew of course. He’d been around at the time. Dylan knew because Alex had shared that much of himself with his closest friend.
But neither of them knew why he had gotten married in the first place because Alex didn’t want to share Jessie’s hardships with everyone. Another way he tried to protect her. Again, at his own expense.
“Where are you going?” Jessie asked when Alex walked through the living room an hour later.
“Out.” She didn’t need to know more than that.
“Where to?” Her voice was closer as she followed behind him.
Turning on her, he stopped just outside of his kitchen. “Does it matter?”
A conditioned response, Jessie flinched and took a step back. Alex didn’t concede to her timid reaction this time, he merely turned away from her.
“Did I do something wrong?” Jessie asked.
Yes. You overstayed your welcome. “No.” Alex barked. “Shit. Jessie. Look.” He turned to face her again. “Don’t you think it’s time you went home? Hell, I’m paying for the damn house. I’d rather someone live in it.”
Fuck. He hadn’t meant to go that far. Jessie knew as well as he did who paid for the house. And the utilities. And her car. Shit. There wasn’t a damn thing the woman did pay for, except food maybe. As thin as she was, Alex even wondered about that.
“I’ll get my stuff.” She turned on her heel and headed across the living room.
“Wait, Jessie.” Following behind her, Alex thrust his hands in his pockets. He hated this shit.
“What?” She turned on him this time, furious. “I get it. I’m in the way. Cramping your style. I’ll go home.”
Alex wished she was serious about that, but he knew better.
“Tomorrow.” He told her. “I’ll take you home in the morning, Jessie. Stay here tonight. I’ll be out late, so just stay here.” It wasn’t what he wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t bring himself to throw her out of his house, even if he wanted to.
A subtle nod was her response. She’d won again. She always won, but Alex was pretty sure she knew that.
An hour later, Alex pulled into the underground parking garage at Club Destiny. He needed a drink, and a couple of hours of mindless entertainment to help him get past the week he’d had. Having Jessie at his house for damn near five days was way more than he could handle. Not seeing or talking to Ashleigh for that amount of time had been even more frustrating.