Rooter (Double H Romance) by Teiran Smith Page B

hand in the trollop’s direction. “She looks like a slut!”
    She shifts her weight to one foot. “Perhaps, but you wouldn’t even care if she wasn’t at Rooter’s house.”
    I sigh. I have no response because she’s right.
     
    Another day has passed. Rooter still isn’t home, and the girl remains at his house. I assume she’s staying there to take care of the dog which gives me hope there isn’t anything going on between them. But it also piques my curiosity. Where did he go? Vacation? Has something happened? Is he okay?
    I try calling and texting him a few more times, but each time it goes straight to voicemail. I’ve officially concluded that he blocked my number. One way or another, I’m rectifying that shit the moment he gets home.
    Finally, fifty six hours and thirteen minutes later, I hear the rumble of Rooter’s Harley. I watch and wait for the bimbo to leave so I can go over there and make him talk to me. But hours pass and she never leaves.
    Rooter’s bedroom light comes on and his blinds are open. I sit on my bed and watch as he walks to the window with the blonde right behind him. Our eyes meet and he closes the blinds.
    Yep. She’s definitely a slut.

Chapter 9
Moving On
    “I think you’re doing the right thing,” Miranda says, picking at the salad in front of her.
    We’re sitting in Skyles, the local sports bar. They have the best food in town even if it’s a bit overpriced. It’s not the most glamorous of places. It’s dingy and dark with posters of sports players and scantily clad women on the walls. My kind of place.
    I gander at the ginormous bacon cheeseburger in front of me. I always do this. Whenever I’m upset about something, I turn to food for comfort. I don’t care what they say about emotional eating. I refuse to deny myself the happiness this greasy burger can give me.
    The morning after Rooter took Blondie to bed, I decided to take his advice and forget about him. It’s been four days and I haven’t bothered trying to reach him, nor have I been inclined to. My urge to run to the window to watch as he comes and goes on his motorcycle has greatly diminished.
    Seeing him with her changed everything for me. I no longer view him the way I once did. No way could I ever be interested in a guy who’d have sex with a tramp like her. I get a cold chill merely thinking of it.
    “I’m so over my infatuation with him.”
    “Good, because you can do way better than him.”
    “Yes, I can.” I hope. I always seem to get mixed up with bad guys. But, there’s always a first for everything.
    “Speaking of doing better, you’ll never guess who I ran into the other day.” She claps her hands and bounces up and down.
    “Who?” I feign interest. I’m not a fan of Miranda’s matchmaking skills. The last guy she set me up with was a complete jackass. Besides, the only reason she’s doing this is because she doesn’t trust me to stay away from Rooter.
    “Hayden Cross. I ran into him at the gas station. He asked about you right away.”
    We’ve known Hayden since grade school, but never ran in the same crowd. He was such a geek. He graduated high school a year early, promptly went to college and now works as an investment advisor at his father’s wealth management company. I haven’t seen him in forever, but last time I ran into him, he’d grown out of his awkward phase; put on a little muscle and his face had grown into his nose.
    I raise a brow, skeptical. “Just because he asked about me doesn’t mean he’s interested, Miranda. We haven’t seen each other in close to two years.”
    “Trust me, he’s still interested. He was all like, “How is she? We should get together soon. Please be sure to tell her I said hi.””
    “I faintly remember you telling me once that if I ever went out with him, you’d disown me.” I chuckle and it feels good. I can’t remember the last time I laughed.
    “Well, that was before he grew up. I mean, you should see the guy. He’s