Read Online Replace Me by Jennifer Foor - Free Book Online

mother’s party, except for Joey. I was so hung up on Shayne that I didn’t even know if he’d been there. I suppose he could have been working at the diner for his mother, since it was the weekend. Here lately, he only worked in the mornings, since he was doing so well at his other job.
    I realized that while trying to stay occupied, my mind kept going back to Joey. Unconsciously, I was thinking about him and I hated it.
    Then Shayne walked through the door. He had a card in his hand and walked right over to Ford. I could sense the animosity between them, but they shook hands anyway. Ford said something that I couldn’t make out, before Shayne walked away disappointed. He spotted me immediately. Maybe I should have ran out the door as fast as I could, but I just stood there watching him approach me.
    “Hi, Lace.” He placed his hands in his pockets and gave me a half smile. He was so handsome and I imagined myself being in his arms, for only a brief second.
    “Hi.” I tried to avoid eye contact. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”
    “I’m not stayin’. I came to talk to you.”
    “So talk.” Right away I felt like it was going to be bad.
    “I’m about to do something and I know you won’t understand. I just want you to know that I was wrong to hurt you. I don’t expect you to forgive me for this, but I hope one day you’ll be able to.”
    I shoved him away from me. “Save me the details. I don’t care anymore. Shayne, you’re not the guy that I waited forever to be with. Do you have any idea how long I waited for you to be able to settle down? I thought you’d changed.”
    “I have. I’m tryin’ to make things right.” Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Joey walk into the room. He was carrying a case of beer and handing it to Ford to put in his refrigerator. He winked when our eyes met and when I looked back at Shayne he was aware of what had caught my gaze. “You’ve got a lot of room to talk about me not bein’ what you thought, seein’ as you’re fuckin’ someone that’s worse than I’ve ever been.”
    Hearing him accuse me of being with Joey added fuel to the fire. It didn’t even matter that I wasn’t with him, or had no intention to be. “I can see who I want.”
    “I highly doubt that you would call it ‘seein’.” He crossed his arms and waited for my response, like I was the guilty one.
    I felt like I needed to defend myself. “Screw you. I can be with whoever I want. You lost your say in what I did the day you lied to me.”
    Joey started to walk out of the apartment again, but Shayne grabbed his arm. “So it’s true? You’re doin’ my girlfriend?”
    Joey looked from Shayne then back to me. He pulled his arm out of Shayne’s grasp. “Back off, Shayne. Last I heard, she wasn’t your anything.”
    People were starting to watch them and I felt uncomfortable. I had to do something and siding with Shayne wasn’t an option, so I threw myself in between them and put my arms around Joey’s waist. He looked at me with a puzzled look. I took a deep breath and said words to Joey that I never wanted to say. “Let’s just go back to your place.”
    He motioned to the two of us and I could tell he was at a loss for words. “I don’t believe you, Lace. You wouldn’t be with someone like him. This is all an act, isn’t it?”
    I felt Joey’s dirty hands wrapping around my back. “It’s true. She’s with me, Shayne. Sorry you had to find out about it here, man. No hard feelin’s.”
    Shayne said nothing as I was being pulled out of the door by Joey’s hand. He looked devastated and a part of me ached for him. Not only had I just lied, but was being groped by someone I hated.
    He pulled me all the way into his apartment, past his family and into his bedroom, kicking the door with his boot. “Don’t you dare do somethin’ like that without warnin’ me. I ain’t havin’ my mother upset because I had to beat the shit out of Shayne in the middle of this party,