Hunks: Opposites Attract (21 page)

The sound of Brian’s footsteps coming back down the stairs made Sapphire pull her body up off the floor. Fresh tears filled her eyes at the sight of his black duffel bag in his hands along with his car keys.

“Brian, please stay and talk to me. I know what I did was wrong, but we can work through it. I know we can,” Sapphire pleaded as she rushed up to him, but Brian walked around her and continued towards the door.

“I have nothing else left to say to you. It’s over between us. You’re just upset you didn’t win your bet before New Year’s Eve, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find another man to fill my void. It’s not like you were looking for love or anything.”

Opening the door, Brian went out slamming it closed behind him. Sapphire stood in the same spot staring at the door for what seem like hours before she finally made her way back over to the couch.

Sitting down, she sat in lonely silence staring into the fireplace already missing what she ruined having with Brian by listening to Emerald. As long as she lived, Sapphire would never forget the anguish in his voice as Brian walked out the door leaving her all alone.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Moving away from her living room window, Sapphire couldn’t stand there any longer watching all of the happy couples holding hands as they walked down the street. After what happened with Brian at the cottage, she couldn’t stay there so she packed up her bags and left. She’d been home for two days now and the pain of losing Brian still cut deep.

How could she have been so stupid? Brian was every woman’s dream and she lost him by being a complete and utter fool. New Year’s Eve was here and once again she was alone with a glass of white wine in her hand.

Everyone constantly told her how smart she was so why in the hell did she feel so dumb? Sapphire knew tonight would have been different if she had not put Brian in her blog, and had told him about the hunks challenge the night they’d made love, but she backed out of doing it . Every time the perfect chance came to her she found an excuse to sweep it under the rug.

As much as she wanted to keep putting the blame on Emerald, she couldn’t do that any longer. Emerald might have thought of the challenge, but she was the one who went through with it and now she was paying the consequences.

At least she had liquor to numb her pain until the New Year started; Sapphire brought the glass to her lips and realized it was empty.
Damn it
!

Walking across the room, Sapphire headed toward the kitchen and the bottle of white wine waiting for her on the kitchen table. She was halfway there when the doorbell rang surprising her.

Brian! Her heart jumped in her chest only to end as fast as it started. No, he wasn’t having anything to do with her. She had tried calling him on his cell phone, but all of her calls went automatically to voice mail. Brian was done with her and she couldn’t blame him. She had torn his heart out of his chest. Why would he want anything to do with her?

Sighing, Sapphire made her way over to the door and without bothering to check the peephole she opened it, frowning when she saw her unwanted visitor on the other side.

“I thought I told you days ago to stay the hell away from me. Haven’t you caused me enough trouble?”

“I know what I did and I’m about to make it all up to you,” Emerald said, brushing past her walking right into her house liked she owned it.

“Get out! I don’t want to hear anything you have to tell me. We aren’t friends anymore. Anything you have to tell me isn’t worth listening to.” Sapphire held the door open, waiting for Emerald to leave.

“Even if it’s about Brian,” she said.

Hope raced through Sapphire’s body before she quickly banked it. Emerald was lying to her. Brian wouldn’t tell her a damn thing. He probably hated Emerald more than he hated her.

“Stop lying. You don’t know anything about him. You’re just trying to get me to let you stay, but it isn’t going to happen. Now leave!”

“I’m not going anywhere until you hear me out,” Emerald told her. “I might have cost you Brian once, but I’m not about to do it again. It’s New Year’s Eve and you are going to get your man. Even if it means, I have to drag your skinny ass all the way down to
Peppers
to do it.”

Closing the front door, Sapphire moved across the room until she was standing in front of Emerald. “Brian is at
Peppers
?” she asked, momentarily forgetting how much she hated her friend. Her breath caught in her lungs. “You actually saw him there?”

“Yes. He’s sitting in the very back of the room nursing a jack and coke. The bartender told me he’s been there for about forty-five minutes. You need to leave and go to him.
Peppers
is having a singles dance. Don’t you dare let any of those other women there take your man.”

Biting her lip, Sapphire looked away from Emerald. If Brian was at a single’s dance then he wasn’t interested in seeing her. He was actually looking for someone else and on New Year’s Eve at that. The pain she felt came hard and swift.

“No, I’m not going over there. Brian is proving he doesn’t want me anymore if he’s at a single’s dance.”

Emerald glared at her. “Have you not been listening to me? If Brian is on the hunt for a new woman, why is he drinking alone?”

Swinging her head back around, Sapphire took a step closer to Emerald. “Let me tell you why. You had to come out to the cottage and open up that mouth of yours. He left me because of you. Shit, why can’t you just leave me alone?” Anger made her voice harsh and unrelenting.

“You know what. You’re right. I shouldn’t have opened my mouth but I did and now I’m trying to make up for it, but you won’t let me,” Emerald shouted back at her. “What I want to know is when did you become such a coward?”

Sapphire was so furious she could hardly speak. How dare Emerald call her a coward? She wasn’t scared of going to see Brian at
Peppers
. She just didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. She’d already hurt him enough.

“I’m not a coward,” she replied, in a low voice, taut with anger.

“Prove it,” Emerald taunted.

“Alright, I will.” Sapphire handed Emerald her wine glass and went to get her purse off the couch. She was going to go down to that singles dance and get Brian back. No matter what he said to her, she wasn’t going to leave until he heard what she had to tell him.

Spinning around, she turned towards the door. Sapphire wasn’t about to admit how scared she was about seeing Brian again. It wouldn’t do her any good to allow her fear to take over now. It was a good thing she’d only had one glass of wine today because she needed all of her mind to face what was about to happen.

Sapphire opened the door and she was about to go out when Emerald’s voice stopped her. “Good luck. I hope you can work things out with him. Don’t worry about your house. I’ll lock it up for you.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Sapphire saw the sincerity on Emerald’s face and some of the anger left her body. Emerald was always going to be Emerald and staying mad at her wasn’t going to work out for either one of them.

“Thank you, Emerald,” she said, and then closed the door behind her.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Walking into the nightclub, Sapphire was taken back by how packed it was for single’s night. Usually
Peppers
was pretty busy but never like this. She guessed there were more single people in town than she knew.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves before she found Brian. She would need all of her strength to deal with whatever reaction he gave her. She was prepared for him to yell at her and demand for her to get out of his face. He still had a right to be mad at her, but she hoped she would be able to ease some of his pain. Hopefully, Brian would at least be willing to hear her out for a few minutes. She wasn’t going to ask for a lot from him but she needed him to, at least, accept her olive branch.

Sapphire eased her way through the crowd looking for Brian, but to her disappointment she didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe she’d missed him while she was at home with Emerald. Brian could have spotted Emerald and decided to leave because he knew they were friends.

No. She wasn’t going to give up this easily. Brian was still here and she would find him. Sapphire continued towards the very back of the club and thought about giving up her search until a couple moved out of the way.

Her breath caught in the very back of her throat as she spotted a lone figure sitting at a table tucked away in the corner. His head was bent over a shot glass, the light above his head dancing off his dark brown hair making it almost look black. Brian looked as lonely as she felt and it tore at her heart she was the one who caused him this pain.

Easing her way around the few people who separated her from the man she loved, Sapphire stopped at the side of his table taking the extra few minutes to just look at him before he realized she was there.

“Hello, Brian.”

His head snapped up and his beautiful gray eyes became flat and unreadable as stone when he looked at her. “What in the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, picking up his drink and taking a drink.

“I came to see you. Can I have a seat?” Sapphire asked, softly.

“No, I don’t want to be bothered with you.”

Ignoring him, Sapphire pulled out the seat next to him and sat down. She laid her purse down in front of her. “Baby, I’ve missed you so much. I tried calling you but you haven’t picked up your phone.”

“Shouldn’t that have been your answer?” Brian snapped, glaring at her. “I don’t want to be bothered with a liar. Why are you really here? Did you need another post for your blog?”

She closed her eyes, feeling utterly miserable but Sapphire knew she deserved Brian’s anger. “No. I don’t have my blog anymore. I deleted the account the same day you left me. I want you, not the blog. Will you please listen to me?” Sapphire reopened her eyes and looked at Brian, hoping he saw the love on her face.

“You’ve already told me enough. There isn’t anything else I want to hear from you.” His voice was absolutely emotionless now and it chilled her. Raising his glass, Brian took another drink. “I have a suggestion for you. Why don’t you stay here and find another man to use for the hunks challenge. I’m taking myself out of the running.”

“You damn idiot,” Sapphire snapped. “Why can’t you get it through your head that I don’t want another man? I love you. I only want you. I told you before and I’ll tell you again. I wanted to be with you from the first moment I saw you.”

“Well, your love isn’t going to be returned because I don’t love you. Why would I? What do you have to offer me? Unlike Nash, I would hate the thought of being married to someone like you. I need a woman who isn’t so clingy and needy for attention. Only a desperate and sad woman would have agreed to that dumb challenge in the first place.”

Falling back against the chair, Sapphire couldn’t keep back the sudden tears that filled her eyes. Brian’s words were brutal and swift just like he meant them to be. He didn’t have to be so cruel. If he wanted her gone all he had to do was tell her to leave again and she would have gotten up leaving him alone with his drink.

“Don’t you have anything to say?” Brian asked as he placed his glass back down on the table.

Unable to speak, Sapphire just shook her head as hot tears rained down her cheeks. She had to get away from Brian. Picking up her purse, she jumped up from her seat almost knocking over the table in her hurry to get away. Nothing Brian had said to her before now was as hurtful as those words. He knew how to wound her and he’d used his final card to do just that.

“Sapphire, wait a minute,” Brian said, softly. “Please...listen, I need to tell you something.” He touched her on the arm, but she shook off his touch.

“Don’t,” she whispered before running away from the table and back through the crowd towards the front door.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Busting out of the front entrance, Sapphire brushed the tears away from her cheeks as she ran towards her car parked at the very back of the parking lot. Damn Brian! She wasn’t about to sit there and let him talk to her so hatefully. He had no right to insult her the way he just did.

Yes, she loved him and probably would for a very long time, but if he wanted to be alone so badly instead of with her she would leave his ass alone in the dark corner with his drink. Sapphire was so lost in her own misery that she didn’t hear the person behind her until a hand wrapped around her arm.

“Sapphire, why didn’t you stay and listen to me when I asked you,” Brian asked, spinning her around to face him. “You just ran out of there leaving me alone at the table.”

“Let go of me,” she snapped, jerking her arm away from him. “You wanted me to leave you alone and I did it. Why did you follow me? Oh, did you want to toss another insult at me for good measure?”

Sapphire spun back around, but Brian didn’t let her get three steps before he stepped in front of her blocking her path. “I’m sorry for what I said to you...I didn’t mean it.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Did that last sip of your drink give you a conscience?” she questioned.

“I’m telling you this because I love you.” Brian reached out to touch her, but she took another step back.

“Don’t you dare touch me. Remember you don’t want to be with this sad and desperate woman.”

Dropping his hand, Brian sighed running his fingers through his hair. “Do you want to know why I was drinking tonight?”

“Not really. I came here to tell you how I felt and you got a lot of pleasure in telling me to get lost. So, I’m not interested in anything you have to tell me.” Sapphire walked around Brian and this time he didn’t try to stop her.

“I called Nash tonight and he told me about his engagement to Shauntie. I was hoping he would be on my side; however, when I told him about what happened between us, he wasn’t. He actually told me I was the biggest asshole in the world for letting you go and he was right.”