of a man.
I’m not good enough for her.
I’m not worthy of Jo’s love.
Instead of being selfish and self-centered I should have been there for her—supported her and made her happy.
I fold the paper back in half and then in half again. As I reach to stick it in my pocket, I hear the front door open and slam shut.
Daulton walks into the kitchen just as I’m about to get up from the table.
“Hey, man,” he says, slapping me on the back.
I nod my head in his direction and move toward the cabinet to grab a coffee mug.
“How’d last night go with Jo? You guys pitched out before we made it to Duke’s.”
“Yeah, I know. We didn’t stay too long.” I reply while setting my mug into the Keurig coffee stand.
I need my caffeine fix. Not like it’ll make my morning any better, but nonetheless I still need it.
“I gathered that much. But what the fuck happened after you left? Jo woke me up at seven thirty wanting me to take her back to her car.”
I turn to face him as he sits down and starts to drum his fingers on the top of the table.
“It’s a long story that I’m not in the mood to talk about right now.”
“Well, you must’ve pissed her off pretty damn bad. She was really upset when I dropped her off.”
I look at the expression on his face; he’s concerned about her and I can’t blame him.
“Did she say anything to you?” I ask.
“Nah, man, she just woke me up and asked for a ride. I figured if she wanted to talk she would’ve said something.”
“Yeah, guess you’re right.”
I can’t stand here and talk about this with him. My heart hurts for a woman I can’t love, and there’s no way in hell I want to sit down and talk it through with Dault.
His idea of a relationship is a one night stand and a door slamming into the chick’s ass on the way out.
He’d never understand what Jo and I had. Fuck, he’d probably blame me for causing her to leave.
Dault is my best friend; we’ve been through hell and back together. But one thing that is different between the two of us is how we handle the situations that come in and out of our lives.
He’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy, whereas I’m the obsessive and structured one.
For as long as I’ve known him, he’s never been one to dwell on the past. Instead, he makes the most of every moment and always has to be the center of attention.
No matter what’s happened to us in our lives, he can move on and start over in a heartbeat. Not me. I need to know the how and why of everything.
Explaining to him what’s just happened with Jo isn’t something I’m ready to do, not yet. We’ve known her for the past few years and she’s always been around. Her presence is going to be missed by all the guys at the shop.
I need to figure how I’m going to survive without her in my life and who’s going to pick up the pieces at the shop.
There aren’t many women that would put up with the shit we shell out, but she handled us just fine and did it with a smile every day.
Fuck, I’m going to miss her.
The guys and I can pick up the slack for a while, but I’ll need to find a replacement before we fuck everything up.
No one will be able to claim the place she held in my life; she was too good to the guys and to me.
Letting out a deep breath, I turn to reach for my coffee. The pain in my chest is still there and I hate how I’m feeling right now.
What the hell is wrong with me…do I love her?
Fucking hell, I don’t know what the hell to think.
Dault gets up from the table and pushes in the chair while clearing his throat.
“Well, on a side note, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?”
My head turns to face him as I give him a glare.
“Dude, I’m not in the mood for games. Just tell me what you need to tell me.”
“Damn it, Linc, you’re PMS-ing like a bitch today. Didn’t Jo give it up last night?”
My glare deepens and I have to restrain my urge to punch him in the face. We
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