“Hello,” I said as she stood silent.

“Umm, is Jay here?”

“He’s in the shower. Can I help you?”

“No, I...um. Hi, Trip,” she addressed the dog, who was bursting at the seams to greet her. I let him through as she kneeled down as gracefully as possible in her skirt so she could pet him. Jay came up behind me wrapped in a towel, and I turned to him as the girl’s eyes shot up to Jay.

“Amber? What are you doing here?”

I looked from Jay back to the girl as a jealous pang shot through me after deducing it was his ex. Most definitely.

Of course she was a super model with the same size boobs. Bitch.

“Excuse me,” I said, doing the adult thing and giving them their privacy while my insides twisted into knots.

“What are you doing here?” Jay repeated harshly.

“I came to see you, to talk. Is she your girlfriend?”

I walked slower, at a snail’s pace. Well, actually a little slower than that. More like if a snail were to have a heart attack and die. Okay, I stopped altogether.

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

“Can, I just talk to you for a minute?”

She was still going to make a play. Jayden had told me it had been three years since they broke up. Surely she wasn’t trying to get him back after that length of time?

“Wait out here,” he said impatiently. I hauled ass into his room, pretending to sort through my clothes.

“I saw you creeping,” he said, pulling me from the floor into his arms. “I have no idea what’s she’s doing here, but I’ll get rid of her.”

“She’s your ex? From three years ago?” I questioned as he dropped his towel.

“We tried again right after New Year’s, but she had to take off for a new job out of state. We haven’t seen each other or talked since.” He pulled on a tight fitting t-shirt and athletic shorts then walked over to me.

“You left that part out,” I said as the stabbing in my chest continued.

“It lasted less than a month. I didn’t think it was worth sharing.” He looked at me and then grabbed my hand, pulling me from the room, kissing me in plain sight before grabbing Trip and his leash and walking out the door. I saw her look back at me briefly before Jayden shut the door with an ‘I love you’ she could clearly hear.

I should have been comforted with that. I should have been okay with the fact that our relationship was amazing and I had no reason to worry. And you would assume that all childish notions of spying on them after that would go right out of my head and out the window.

Yeah fucking right.

I hauled ass to the window as I spied them walking with Trip. She seemed to be pleading her case as Jayden stood there listening. He raised his hand in a cutting motion as he spoke. He didn’t seem angry, just irritated. When he glanced up at the window, I turned and quickly flattened my back against the wall to avoid being seen. I peeked out again, and when I could no longer see them, I panicked. I quickly made a reasonable plan and raced through his apartment to get to my swimsuit. All I could think about was her long legs and perfect hair.

Minutes later, I was cowering in the bushes spying on my boyfriend and his hot ex-girlfriend in my swimsuit, nowhere near the pool. Our complex was huge. If I got busted now it would be humiliating. To make matters worse, the bushes I was buried in were made up of those sharp, prickly leaves that looked like holly. I was a scratched up mess, my forearms bleeding as I crouched down. I could barely see them and couldn’t hear anything but Trip barking his head off. Giving up minutes later, I stood up, only to come face to face with my smiling boyfriend.

“Busted,” he said, chuckling as he took in my swimsuit and pausing at my mangled arms. “Lucy, what haf you ju gotun jorself into?” he said, doing his best Ricky impression.

Too embarrassed to speak, and in pain from the leaf prick scratches still stinging my arms, I started walking toward his apartment. He was fast on my heels with Trip still barking his head off for no apparent reason.

“Do you even realize that your covert operations where I am concerned always go wrong and you end up hurt or bleeding somehow? Case and point, you stealing my dog...Baby, wait up.”

I changed directions quickly, deciding a good long swim was just what I needed, though I was dying for answers.

“Okay, baby, have a good swim.” he sighed, sounding amused as he followed me to the gate. I slammed it closed before he could get in. He called out to Trip and they headed back in the direction of the apartment. I spent the next hour burning through my jealous frustration as my scratched arms screamed from the chlorine contact.

I should have just handled it like an adult. Then I wouldn’t feel the need to hide from Jayden and the humiliation still burning through my veins. Still, it took the better part of exhausting myself to the point of needing a nap to stick my tail between my legs and head back. I walked in as Jayden started lighting candles in the living room. He often burned several at a time and we always seemed to be surrounded by soft light and music no matter what we did. I wanted to go to him, but instead bypassed him as he smiled at me.

“Don’t be so damn smug. At least I didn’t Hulk out like you did.” It was a mean jab, but I couldn’t help my bitterness as I went in to shower. Knowing I was being an asshole, after my hot shower, I searched through the medicine cabinets for the peroxide but couldn’t find it. I sat on his bed, thoroughly disappointed. Willing to swallow my medicine, I walked out to find Jayden sitting on the couch in a room full of clean smelling candles. There was a freshly poured glass of wine on the table sitting next to his coffee, the missing peroxide and cotton balls next to it. The lump in my throat brought me close to teary eyed as Jayden held out his hand to me. I took it and settled in next to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that about the Hulk.” He quickly started rolling up my t-shirt sleeves then opened the bottle of peroxide.

“I thought it was funny. You are so fucking cute when you’re jealous.”

I glared at him and he went silent as he wet a ball with the liquid. I noted how dark his lashes were as he looked down, doctoring my skin. Of course she wanted him back. What woman in their right mind wouldn’t? He was amazing and beautiful and...everything. I watched him as he gently dabbed my scratched skin. “How long are you going to make me wait?” I asked, my voice filled with impatience.

“Take a sip of this,” he said, handing me the wine.

“I don’t need it,” I snapped, still trying to handle the panic I felt at the thought of him with someone else.

“Come on, baby. Don’t let it ruin our day.”

I nodded then took a long sip. He had introduced me to this particular red and although I wasn’t normally a fan, I loved his taste in wine.

“She wanted you back?” He nodded and my blood boiled. I downed more wine. “What did you say?”

He rolled down my t-shirt sleeve and looked right at me. “I told her it was too late.”

“You think she got the message?” I asked, my voice shaking with emotion.

“She won’t be back,” he said, leaning in to place a kiss on my cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“Yes,” I said, not in any way referring to my arms he was studying.

He caught my meaning and looked up at me. “I love you, and you know that.”

“She’s so beautiful,” I said, voicing my fear.

“You are far more beautiful to me.”

“You are so full of shit,” I said, slumping in my seat. “She doesn’t have lopsided boobs and a pudgy gut.”

“I’ll entertain jealousy, but I can’t stand insecurity. You know how much I love your body. And if that pudge were to disappear, I would hate it.”

“Did you love her?” He sat back in his seat, sipping his coffee. I rolled my eyes. “Fine, we won’t get into it. I hate feeling this way. I hate knowing you loved someone else, slept with someone else. I guess I’m not as much as a grown up as I’d like to believe. I felt sick knowing I could lose you.”