Do not pretend you do not miss all this, baby

Emma’s POV

I had been keeping my distance from Zane for the past few days. The guilt had been there since the start, but something about that morning with him made it worse. I had never lied to Maddie before, and the fact that I was doing it now made me feel sick with myself. Zane had tried to reach me, texts, calls, everything, but I ignored every one of them. His messages grew angrier, but how could he not see this was wrong?

Up until now, I had done a good job of avoiding him. That ended when Maddie told me she needed to stop by his place to grab a charger since hers had broken. She insisted I ride along.

“I will just wait in the car,” I said quickly when we pulled up outside.

“Do not be silly, come inside. I will only be five minutes,” she smiled, already stepping out.

I wanted to refuse but could not think of a good reason without raising suspicion. So I forced a smile and followed her. My stomach tightened at the thought of seeing him. I knew he would not be happy to see me, and I was not sure I could even look him in the eye after the way I had left things. I promised myself I would just act normal.

Maddie pushed the door open without knocking, she never bothered to, and called out, “Zane, where are you?”

“I will be out in a second,” his voice came from the bedroom, sounding breathless.

Maddie rolled her eyes at me knowingly. “He has got someone in there,” she muttered. It was not surprising. Zane always had women around. But even so, the thought twisted inside me. It was two in the afternoon, and yet here he was again. Did he not have anything better to do?

A moment later, Zane came rushing out, wearing nothing but his boxers. His hair was a mess, his face flushed, and he looked every bit as if he had just rolled out of bed with someone.

“Seriously?” Maddie laughed. “You knew I was coming. Could you not have held off a little longer? It is the middle of the afternoon. Where do you even find all these women?”

But he barely heard her. His eyes locked straight on me, and the atmosphere shifted instantly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone hard.

“Do not talk to her like that,” Maddie snapped, glaring at him. “She came with me. What is wrong with you?”

“Sorry,” he muttered quickly, though his voice held no real warmth. “I just was not expecting her, that is all.”

Maddie huffed. “Where is the charger?” she asked, irritation lacing her voice.

She never tolerated anyone speaking to me like that. Maddie had always been the kind of best friend who would jump to my defence in a heartbeat. I was the same with her.

“Kitchen,” Zane muttered.

Maddie headed off, leaving the two of us standing in the hallway. The silence pressed in, thick and heavy. I kept my eyes anywhere but on him, on the walls, the floor, anywhere safer than his stare. But when I finally looked up, he was already moving toward me, closing the space between us until I could feel his anger.

“Why have you been ignoring me these last few days?” His voice was hard, his eyes burning into mine.

“You know why,” I shot back. “What happened between us should never have happened, and it will not happen again. What are you even complaining about? You have plenty of other women to keep you busy.”

A slow, infuriating smirk tugged at his lips as he stepped even closer, his hand brushing against my hip.

“Are you jealous?” he asked, his voice low.

I blinked at him in disbelief. Jealous? Was he serious? I pressed my palm against his chest and pushed him back just enough to put space between us. Maddie could walk back in any second, and besides, there was literally another woman waiting for him in his room.

“I do not think so,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “Why would I be jealous? This was my decision to end it.”

The smirk fell from his face in an instant, replaced with anger. His jaw tightened, his whole posture shifting as if my words had cut deeper than he expected. I allowed myself the smallest smile, knowing it would needle him even more.

He opened his mouth, ready to snap back, but the sound of the bedroom door interrupted.

“Baby, are you coming back?” a sultry voice called. “I am hot and lonely.”

I turned my head, catching sight of her. She was gorgeous, dark hair, flawless skin, curves that made sense of why he had chosen her. Still, the way she purred those words in front of a stranger made my stomach twist.

“I will be back in a minute. I am busy,” he snapped at her, his tone sharp.

“Whatever,” she muttered before disappearing back inside, slamming the door behind her.

I shook my head, disgust clear in my voice. “What kind of way is that to speak to someone?”

“It is not like she means anything,” he said with a careless shrug. “I cannot even remember her name.”

My stomach turned. I had always known Zane could be reckless with women, but seeing it so bluntly made me feel sick.

“You are disgusting,” I said flatly, shaking my head in disappointment.

Before he could bite back, Maddie came striding out of the kitchen, charger in hand. “Got it,” she chirped, completely unaware of the tension hanging in the air.

We said our goodbyes, or rather, Maddie did. I walked straight past him without a word. The smug look on his face made me want to scream, but instead, I climbed into the car and slammed the door behind me. Jackass.

Maddie and I drove into town, ready to spend the afternoon shopping. Afterwards, we planned a quiet girls’ night. Just us. No drama. Exactly what I needed.

*********

A couple of hours later, we were sitting in a café, surrounded by shopping bags, laughing over silly impulse buys. For a moment, everything felt normal. Then my phone buzzed in my pocket.

The second I saw his name on the screen, my eyes rolled automatically. Zane. What now?

Zane: Hey beautiful. You looked amazing earlier. I am sorry for the way I acted. I should not have said those things. Forgive me? Can we meet up and talk? xx

Too nice. That was never a good sign with him. What was his angle?

Emma: You are being suspiciously sweet. What do you really want?

Zane: Just to talk. Meet for a drink tonight or coffee tomorrow? Please? I miss our little sessions xx

My chest tightened. I hated how much those words stirred something in me. I missed them too, more than I wanted to admit. But drinks at night? No. That was dangerous. Coffee was safer. At least I could convince myself of that.

Emma: Fine. Coffee tomorrow. Just coffee. Text me the details.

Zane: Will do. Yeah, yeah, we will see where it goes, baby. See you tomorrow xx

I did not respond again. I tucked my phone away and forced myself to refocus on Maddie, who was halfway through a story about some disaster date she had overheard in the coffee line. But even as I laughed with her, the thought of tomorrow nagged at me. Being alone with him again, it felt like I was tempting fate.

My phone buzzed again. I groaned, pulling it out. Another message from Zane. This time, with a photo attached. For a second, I considered ignoring it. Then curiosity got the better of me, and I opened it.

There he was, sprawled across his bed in nothing but boxers, grinning like he owned the world.

Zane: Do not pretend you do not miss all this, baby x

A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. Maddie gave me a confused look, raising an eyebrow.

“Work stuff,” I lied quickly, flashing her a casual smile. She nodded, satisfied, and went back to her coffee. I hated myself for lying again. Each time, it got easier, and that scared me.

Emma: You really do love yourself, do you not? Leave me alone. I am with Maddie. If you want to talk, then tomorrow.

This time, he let it go. No more messages. But I knew him. Tomorrow, he would push, and I had no idea if I was strong enough to push back.