Read Online On an Edge of Glass by Autumn Doughton - Free Book Online

story. 
    The ex.
    Crap.
    A million oh nos scream inside my head.
    A n icy, finger-numbing chill sneaks in around my heart.  I’m hoping that my feet keep moving properly so that I don’t fall over right here in the driveway.
                  The girl is gorgeous. 
    I do n’t want her to be, but there is no denying it.  She’s all big boobs, tiny waist, and intense sex appeal.  If I’m being honest, she’s the complete opposite of me.  They were together for years.  So, this is what he likes, I think as I take in her propped-up cleavage and red-stained lips. 
    Her hair i s long and so dark that it’s on the verge of black.  She wears it loose, dripping over her shoulders and snaking down to the dip of her lower back.  A handful of tiny braids sweep away from her forehead and are pinned behind her right ear.  Her skin is an exotic deep golden brown that sets off her unusually wide, light eyes. 
    She’s paired an insanely short skirt with a cropped black shirt that rides up when she shifts, exposing her pierced naval.  A stack of silver bracelets climbs up her naked arm.  They make clinking sounds as she descends the porch steps and walks in our direction.
                  I wonder vaguely if she’s freezing her butt off.  She looks it.  Freezing and like a fucking rock star sex siren.
    I, for one, have never felt so dull and unattractive in my life.  It unhinges me.  I wobble.  My knees feel loose, like they might not want to hold me up much longer. 
                  “Lily, what are you doing here?”  Ben asks tightly.  His shoulders are ramrod straight and his chin is lifted in a challenge.  
                  Lily
                  Even her name is pretty.  I realize that I was hoping that he’d call her Henrietta or Gertrude or something equally awful so that I could at least make it sound nasty inside my head.  I can’t do much damage with a name like Lily. 
                  Lily pauses in front of us.  Her hands are on her hips.  She’s jutting her head to one side.  She looks at Ben and then at me and her eyes quickly dart back to him.  She seems unimpressed by my presence and I can’t say that I blame her. 
                  “Ben,” she says his name gently.  She reaches her hand forward to lightly graze his arm. 
    He flinches slightly, but he doesn’t pull back.  This seems to be what she’s hoping for, and her fingers slide down to encapsulate his wrist.  She pulls him toward her body. 
    My heart is jammed up in my throat.  Things inside of me are cracking and I realize that it’s jealousy that’s hammering everything into smithereens.  How ridiculous is that?  What rational reason do I have to be jealous?  None.  Ben can do what he likes.  He can talk, kiss, be with whomever he likes.
    I look away and focus on the twenty steps that it’s going to take to reach the front door.  Walking more quickly, I ignore the whistling in my blood and pay attention to the sound of my feet hitting the ground.  Ben is strangely silent.  I figure that he and Lily are having some sort of intense staring contest, but I don’t look back over my shoulder to verify this. 
    “Nice to meet you,” Lily says slimly, just this-side of rude.
    My fingers are braced on the knob of the front door.  I swivel on my heels, whipping my head around. 
    They’re both standing there, four steps down on the walkway.  Ben’s mouth is partway open.  His gold-flecked eyes are directed at me.  He looks ready to scream or cry or hit something.  Or maybe I don’t know what he’s thinking at all.  Maybe I don’t know him at all. 
    Lily i s still touching him and it kills me.  My stomach is completely hollowed out and I feel pressure start to build up behind my eyes.  How pathetic will Ben think that I am if I start to cry right now? 
    Over wha t? 
    One drunken kiss.
    A dance. 
    I remind myself that we a