“Rob, you might not remember because you were either wasted or high or maybe a combination of both, but I broke it off. You were practically having sex on the other end of the phone.” She shifts her weight closer to me and further away from Rob. Quickly, I wrap my arm around her waist to secure her where she should be.

“What?” he asks, scrunching his eyes in disbelief. “Whatever Jessa, don’t make up shit. If you want it over, it’s over. Believe me, you’re nothing special. All I have to do is say ‘next’ and some hot girl will happily fill your spot.” He tosses his beer bottle in the trashcan and walks out of the room.

“I already pity her,” Jessa hollers to his back.

“Brady, you better go kick his ass out,” Trey demands, turning his body toward him.

“Uh, yeah,” he huffs. “I’ll be right back.” He appears exhausted and annoyed that he has to deal with this drama as he reaches over and grabs Sadie’s bag from the floor before venturing out of the room.

After Brady leaves to talk to Rob, I take Jessa into my arms. “Are you alright?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I never told you exactly how we broke up.” She peeks up to me through her eyelashes, obviously wondering how I will take the news.

“I don’t care how it all went down, as long as it did.” I form it like a question and she snaps her head back.

“I swear it did. You believe me, right?” she asks, her voice sounding panicky. I gently nudge her head back to my chest.

“Of course,” I tell her. “Now get your stuff so you can come to my place.”

“Why?” She pulls back again, but I keep my arms fastened around her waist.

“You’re not staying here with him,” I say and she cocks her head to the side.

“And why would that be?” She pulls further away and my body goes cold from the lack of contact.

“Do I really have to explain it to you?” I regret my tone as soon as the words leave my mouth.

“I guess you do, because what I’m hearing is that you are trying to order me to go somewhere and that you don’t trust me to be in the same house as my ex.” She grabs her bag, getting ready to wheel it out of the room

“Jessa, I have to go to that group discussion I told you about for my business management class. You could come to house and stay there until I finish. I really don’t understand what the big deal is.” I step forward to reach her but she steps back.

Thankfully, Brady comes in at that moment, and I pray he’s about to tell us Rob’s packing his stuff and getting the hell out.

“So did you kick his ass out?” Trey steps up, asking the question we all want an answer to.

“I gave him until the end of the week.” Brady sighs, knowing full well that Trey and I are going to argue his decision. “Listen, he has shit to get out. He promised me he’ll stay out of the way and keep his mouth shut.”

“Is that even possible?” I ask and Brady turns to Jessa.

“I’m sorry, Jessa. I know this might make it uncomfortable for you. Maybe you should go stay with Grant until he’s gone.” See, I am being rational here. She’s the one who thinks, unrealistically, that her current boyfriend would be okay with her sharing a bathroom with her ex.

“Don’t worry about it, Brady. I can handle it.” She touches his arm and Brady gives her a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, because you’re coming with me.” I move closer and gently place my hand in hers.

She pulls it back and narrows her eyes at me. “I am not. You know I hate that place. Not to mention, you can come back here when you’re done, if you’re that worried about him being here,” she says, her voice starting to rise. I know we’re about to have our first major fight because I’m not about to let this go.

“Jessa, you’re being completely irrational,” I say, and everyone wisely starts to move out of the room. Sadie looks back one more time and I see the concerned expression on her face before Brady nudges her forward.

“Am I?” she counters, clearly ready for a fight. At this point, I’m teetering on whether or not to carry her out of here against her will. “You think I am the one being irrational?”

“Yes! Now, go get whatever you need and let’s get the hell out of here!” I finally lose it, unable to keep my anger in check any longer. Possessive…yes. Domineering…yes. Shitty…yes. But I’m not about to let my girlfriend stay here with her ex five steps away.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” She crosses her arms and shifts her weight onto one hip, staring at me. Her hazel eyes now intently glare into mine. I swear she hasn’t even blinked yet.

“Jessa,” I grit through clenched teeth. Completely exasperated by this conversation and obviously not thinking straight, I make the mistake of saying, “Either come with me now or I’m not coming back here tonight.”

Before the answer leaves her mouth, I’m already hitting myself. “Fine, see you around. Call me when you grow the fuck up.” With that, she stomps out of the room.

“Fuck!” I slam my fist against the doorframe on my way out. How can she not see my point? She’s being naïve as fuck to think the dipshit isn’t going to attempt to get her in his bed. The fact that I just pushed her toward him pisses me off more, but I’m left with no other choice. I have to leave and meet with my group, otherwise I fail. If I fail, we have no future anyway.

I toss my bag into the bed of my truck, thanking God when it starts after sitting for a week. Peeling out of the driveway, I leave her. Slamming my fist into the steering wheel as I drive to the frat house, I shake my head, outraged at myself. I might have just handed my girlfriend over to her ex. Fuck!

Chapter 23

Jessa

The nerve of Grant. How dare he think I should go stay in that fucking frat house when he won’t even be there? Give me a break. It’s only a matter of five hours that he’ll be gone. What exactly does he think will happen? That I’ll just hop in bed with Rob for old times’ sake? Ugh, he pisses me off.

I toss my bag onto the chair in my room and see Rob through the open bathroom door, playing his guitar. I slam my bathroom door shut, not wanting to hear anymore shit from him. When he starts playing “Sorry” by Art of Dying, I want to strangle him. Is that his way of apologizing to me? No, I think to myself, he’s just being a smart ass. The longer he plays, the louder he becomes, so I throw my body on the bed and cover my ears with a pillow but it doesn’t help. Every time he sings the words ‘I’m Sorry’, I swear he’s right outside my door. Not being able to take it any longer, I throw the door open and, just as I assumed, Rob’s standing there, playing his guitar and singing for me.

I cross my arms, impatiently waiting for him to finish. After he sings the last sentence, he bites his lower lip and stares intently at me. In this moment, I don’t see the asshole who cheated on me. I see the guy who helped me forget my past for a few months. Grant might have been the one to help me heal, but Rob provided a distraction from the shame I felt. Rob just isn’t the guy you marry…he’s the one you date before you get married.

“Are you finished?” I ask him, attempting to accentuate my annoyance.

“Believe it or not, I am sorry. If what you say is true, that was a shitty thing for me to do.” He stands up and places his hand out for me to shake. I glance down at it skeptically before looking back up at him. “Come on, I’m trying to do the noble thing here.”

Reluctantly, I shake his hand, feeling the numerous calluses on his fingertips from all the playing he’s done the past few months. “But it’s so out of character for you,” I remark and he chuckles.

“Maybe I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.” He lets go of my hand and we stand there on either side of the doorway as though we’re strangers.

“Good luck with that,” I say sarcastically.