Read Online Breathless by Cheryl Douglas - Free Book Online Page B

breathe.
    “Please,
don’t.” Belinda pulled his head down to meet hers and thrust her
tongue into his mouth before Eli could pull away.
    “I can’t do
this tonight,” he said, gripping her upper arms.
    “Are you ever
gonna be able to do this?” she asked, glaring at him. “Or is that
bitch always going to get in the way?”
    “Don’t.” He
held up a finger to silence her. “Just don’t.”
     
    ***
     
    After driving
aimlessly for an hour, crying along with every sad country song on
the radio, Jasmine went to the only place she could think of:
Nellie’s.
    Nellie’s mouth
dropped open when she looked at Jasmine. Nellie tugged on her hand,
pulling her inside the small bungalow. “What the hell happened to
you?”
    “I had a fight
with Eli.” Just when Jasmine thought she’d run out of tears, two
more slid down her cheeks. “He doesn’t want anything more to do
with me.”
    Nellie led her
into the tiny kitchen and pointed to a stool at the breakfast bar.
As a graphic designer, she had a good eye and made the most of her
small space. Nellie took a bottle of white wine out of the fridge
and reached for two glasses in the overhead cupboard.
    “I can’t
drink,” Jasmine said. “I’m driving.”
    “So you’ll
crash on my couch. No big deal.”
    Jasmine didn’t
protest. She needed to dull the pain and wine seemed like the
safest bet.
    “Okay, start at
the beginning.” Nellie handed her a glass of wine and stood at the
end of the breakfast bar, sipping from her own glass as she waited
for Jasmine to collect herself.
    Jasmine took a
deep swallow of the cool wine, savoring the taste. She took one
more, hoping it would have the desired effect soon. “He’s seeing
someone new. Ava set them up. He told me the night he came to
Jimmy’s to drive us home.” She clenched the delicate glass and
wondered how her life had spiralled out of control so quickly. She
used to know exactly what she wanted. All she could focus on
anymore was the fact that she was alone, and the one person who’d
always supported her didn’t want her in his life anymore.
    “Is it
serious?” Nellie asked hesitantly. She obviously knew she was
treading into dangerous territory.
    “It must be.”
Jasmine took another drink before Nellie topped up her glass. “He
told me he couldn’t move on with her until he got me out of his
life for good.”
    Nellie frowned.
“That doesn’t sound like E. Maybe he was just upset or having a bad
day.”
    “He meant it.”
Jasmine thought about the look on his face. She knew it was
difficult for him, but he must have been thinking about cutting her
out for a long time. Eli wouldn’t have made that kind of decision
on the spur of the moment.
    Nellie put an
arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Honey, I hate to say this, but you
had to know this was coming sooner or later. Put yourself in his
position. You know exactly what it’s like. Remember how Brent felt
about your relationship with Eli?”
    “Yeah.”
    “It’s only
natural the new woman in his life would feel threatened by
you.”
    “I know.” But
that didn’t make it easier. Her life without Eli seemed
unimaginable. Even when she’d been living in L.A., they’d spoken
several times a week on the phone. They’d decided to take a “break”
from their friendship once, and it was hell for them both. And a
break wasn’t what he was proposing. He wanted to cut her out of his
life. Permanently.
    “Maybe this
thing with what’s-her-name won’t work out. Maybe he’ll have a
change of heart and realize you’re more important than--”
    “He won’t.”
Jasmine couldn’t get her hopes up. He’d already made himself clear,
and she just had to learn to live with that. Somehow. Reaching for
the bottle, she topped her glass up again. “I’m sorry to lay all
this on you, Nel.”
    “Hey, what are
friends for?” Nellie kissed the top of her head. “I can’t remember
how many break ups you’ve seen me through.”
    “Yeah, but