“Mrs. Frey. Hi, how are you?” I ask as her eyes search my face.
“Dylan? Oh sweetie are you all right? Is this a bad time?” She moves towards the counter and I frantically shake my head.
“No, no not all. Umm, boy drama.” She nods in appreciation and smiles at me as I force a friendly expression. “Let me grab your cake.” I walk in the back and pull her cake out of the fridge, placing it on the worktop to give it a final once over. My phone rings again in my pocket and I once again ignore it. Fuck him. I open the cake top and glance at my creation. The chocolate peppermint frosting messes with me and the tears come again. “Pull your shit together. You’re at work,” I say to myself quietly. I can’t let this affect my job. I was warned about Reese, multiple times actually. I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s my own f**king fault for reacting this way. I quickly close the cake box, plastering on a smile as I walk back up front.
“Here you go. One double chocolate peppermint cake. Happy Anniversary.”
Mrs. Frey beams at me. “Oh, Dylan, it looks lovely. You even scrolled our names on it. Bless you, dear.” She leans in and gives me a quick hug before she waves at Joey and turns to leave.
As soon as the shop door closes, my fake expression drops and I crumble. “Joey, I need a minute.” I quickly run into the back, up the stairs, and hurl myself into my bed.
I’m immediately reminded of waking up with Reese as I wrap myself around my comforter that doesn’t smell like him. However, I do. I f**king smell like him. I used to love this comforter but right now, I hate it. I used to love everything about this bed but not anymore. Not after last night. Last night was obviously some sort of a f**king joke to him since he decided to remind me ever so sweetly this morning of all his other hookups. What were his words? Close to twenty probably? What a whore. My phone beeps a text message alert in my pocket and I pull it out and chuck it across the room, sending it crashing against my wall. I close my eyes and think back to last night when I hear commotion coming from below me. Familiar commotion. Shit.
“Reese! Do not f**king go up there!” Joey’s voice screeches and I panic, flinging myself out of my bed and running towards my bathroom as I see his head quickly emerging up my stairs.
“Dylan!” he yells panicky but I make it to the bathroom and slam the door, locking it quickly. The door shakes as he pounds on it. “Dylan, what the f**k is going on?”
I back away from the door and sit on the edge of the tub. “Go away, Reese.” The tears sting my cheeks as they stream down at a faster pace. My eyes are locked on the door as it shakes furiously. “Go the f**k away!” I hunch over and cover my ears the best I can. Where the f**k is Joey?
“Dylan, what happened?” The banging stops. “Please talk to me. I don’t know what delivery you got but I didn’t send you anything today. I f**king swear to God I didn’t.” He didn’t send me anything? But it was in the same box. The white box.
I stand. “You didn’t send me anything?” My broken voice stings my throat.
“No, love, please open the door. I need to see you.” I hear the sound of a light thud and picture Reese dropping his head against the door. My mind scrambles. If he didn’t send me anything, then who did? “Dylan?” I quickly wipe under my eyes and turn the lock, opening the door and looking up at him. He immediately grabs me and pulls me into him and I don’t protest. I let him hold me until I remember the pictures which only take me a few seconds.
“Let go of me!” I yell and push past him, feeling his hands on my waist and spinning me around.
“Love.”
“No. You may not have sent me those pictures but someone sure as hell did. I can’t f**king believe this.” The images are burned into my mind and I’m fuming.
“What pictures? What are you talking about?” I go to walk downstairs, hearing Joey’s voice and someone else’s but Reese holds on to me.
“Let go of me and I’ll f**king show you.”
He does but not before I hear him mutter something under his breath that sounds an awful lot like drives me crazy.
I march into the bakery and see Ian pinning a very red-faced Joey against the wall. “Jesus Christ. Let him go, Ian.” He does and Joey shoves him hard before turning towards me.
“Are you all right?” he asks, flicking a glare towards Reese who has followed close behind me.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I reach into the trash and pull out the box, thrusting it into Reese’s chest. “So glad I got to see these. Really made my f**king day.” I walk over to Joey and make sure he’s okay.
Ian walks up to us both. “Sorry, man. I just needed to give my boy a chance to talk to his girl and knew you wouldn’t let him.”
Joey smooths out his shirt. “You’re lucky you’re marrying one of my best friends, otherwise I would have hurled you through that window. Asshole.”
“Fuck,” Reese says and we all turn to him and see him fishing through the box. “That f**king bitch. Dylan, I’m so sorry you saw these.” He moves closer to me and I step back, putting my hand up to stop him.
“Who sent them?” I ask sternly. His eyes flick to Ian and I move in closer. “Reese, who the f**k sent these to me?”
He swallows loudly. “The girl I was last…”
“Fucking?” Joey fills in.
Reese nods.
“Classy,” Joey adds.