Psycho Ex Boyfriend (Standalone New Adult Romance) (The Alpha Brotherhood Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

from college,” I explain.
    “Ooo. He has a name now,” she muses. “Must be getting serious”
    I force a smile. He’s always had a name, I just never talk about it. If she hadn’t dropped by my office and found me trying not to look like I just got screwed on my desk, she wouldn’t even know he exists. That moment became an opportunity to learn all about aspects of her own personal life that I thought I didn’t want to know because you never mix work with pleasure or go into business with friends. And since I spend 85% of my life working and the other 15% sleeping, I have neither friends nor a personal life unless you count occasionally screwing Adam or going on a random disappointing date, so listening to her is actually fascinating.
    What happens when business partners turn into friends? Dad never taught me about that one. That’s probably not what’s happening, however. This is just normal small talk.
    “Hello?” she says, shaking me free of my over analyzation process. “ Is it getting serious?”
    “It always has been,” I admit.
    “Really.” She grins mischievously and finishes her latte, waving at the waiter to order another.
    “Yeah.” My stomach turns over, adversely reacting to the brownie. I need real food, something savory, even greasy. But it’s naïve to think any of that will truly put me at ease. Oh, my God, where is he? What if he’s been… No. I am not going to let my mind wander to the darker possibilities.
    “So the college booty call was actually a college boyfriend, huh?”
    “No, he was essentially just a booty call in college,” I reply, faking a nervous laugh because that’s seems like that natural thing to do during a gossipy conversation with a fellow female. “High school boyfriend.”
    “High school?” Demi squeals. “So… first love?”
    Only love. “Definitely.”
    “Now it makes sense. Those are nearly impossible to get over. You’ll just have to replace him instead.”
    “I can’t,” I whisper, refusing to acknowledge the tears welling up in my eyes because that might cause them to fall. “I just can’t. I’ve tried and tried and tried for the better part of a decade. And I have officially failed. He’s irreplaceable.” Who is talking right now? It doesn’t sound like me.
    “Oh.” Demi’s bubbly demeanor falls away, but somehow she seems even warmer, leaning forward and placing a hand on my arm. “What happened?”
    He killed a man. “He showed up last night and surprised me.” That’s one way of putting it. “Swept me off my feet like he always does. And left in the middle of the night. Again.”
    “Is this a pattern?”
    “More or less.”
    “Well, maybe…” This is when any self-respecting woman would tell me to get a clue and face the fact that I’m just a piece of meat to this guy. “Look, I don’t know him, but…” Demi sighs with a reluctant smile.
    “What?
    “It seems like so many beautiful, intelligent, accomplished women don’t demand the respect they deserve from the men in their lives. Or they have unattainable high standards, but that doesn’t seem like you.”
    “It’s a lot more complicated than that.”
    “Because of the history.”
    “Yes. So much history.”
    “But it was high school history,” she says. “You’re different people now.”
    “We still fit together. And it’s not just high school history. He was a post-imploded-engagement, sorta-kinda-more-than-a-rebound boyfriend, too.”
    “You were engaged?”
    “Biggest mistake I didn’t technically make. Because of Adam.”
    “Wow.”
    “And…” I don’t understand why this specific moment in mine and Adam’s timeline matters so much, but it does. I can’t comprehend why I’m ashamed of it, but I am. This is part of the reason why I lead such an isolated life. It’s my own fault really. I should have invested more of my scarce time into bonding with other women my own age and education level instead of developing intimacy with romantic