Sexting My Ex’s Dad (Forbidden Silver Foxes)

9. Stella

9

STELLA

L ike. Like. Like.

I hardly ever leave comments on social media anymore, probably because I barely talk to any of the people I follow. Most of them are from high school, college, and some even from middle school, but it feels weird not to scroll through it every so often and see what they’re all up to…see how their lives compare to mine.

Most of them have gone on to do great things, but me…? I’m making mid five figures a month working at a gentlemen’s club.

Not too shabby.

Not that I would ever post that.

I pause mid-scroll, my heart sinking like an anchor into the depths of my chest. There he is – Owen – with his arm draped around a new woman. Both of them are smiling, and it pains me to say that the woman is absolutely gorgeous with her bob length hair, slim figure, and pretty eyes.

I want to slap her. Him too.

“Ugh,” I mutter under my breath, trying to suppress the storm of emotions brewing inside me. The betrayal stings like salt on an open wound, and I can’t help but feel foolish for ever trusting him.

“This is just a break, Stella, not a breakup.”

His words keep replaying in my head. If this is his version of a break, I would have preferred the breakup.

At least then, I would have gotten complete closure.

Is she the reason he’d broken up with me?

My fingers tremble as I close the laptop, unable to bear the sight any longer.

“Stella?” Anastasia’s voice floats through the crack in my bedroom door, concern lacing her words. “Is everything okay? I heard you groan.”

“Was I that loud?”

“Yes.”

“Come in,” I sigh, welcoming the distraction from my thoughts. She pushes the door open, her eyes searching mine for any sign of distress.

“Hey,” she says softly, taking a seat beside me on the bed. “What’s going on?”

“Owen,” I choke out, my voice barely audible. “He’s moved on already”

Anastasia’s face contorts into a mixture of sympathy and anger. “Are you serious?”

I gesture to my computer, not even wanting to look at the picture again however Anastasia doesn’t hesitate to throw the screen open and hiss. “What a jerk,” she seethes, wrapping a comforting arm around my shoulders. “You deserve so much better, Stella. I always knew you were too good for him…that fat nose pompous…” I’m hardly listening, as she continues to insult him.

Anastasia plays her role well – as the comforting best friend, but her words do little to make me feel better.

“Maybe,” I murmur, staring blankly at the wall. “But it still hurts, you know? And it doesn’t help that the girl is pretty.”

“No girl is as pretty as you.”

I roll my eyes and fall onto my back on the bed. “I hate him.”

“You should. He’ll regret leaving you,” Anastasia reassures me, giving me a gentle squeeze. “He’ll remember how wonderful you are, and he’ll come crawling back, and when he does, you’ll have moved on.”

She’s right. That’s what I should be focused on…moving on, but I can’t shake the lingering sense of betrayal. We’d been together for years…if he could go leave me for another girl, so could a stranger. Will I ever be able to trust someone again?

Owen was supposed to be a safe choice — maybe not particularly the most attractive or romantic guy — but I’d been confident that he’d stay by my side.

I was wrong.

“Maybe,” I finally say, throwing an arm over my face.

“No, no maybe.” She yanks my arm away. “I know what you need. A girl’s night out. What do you say we head to that new bar downtown? It’s supposed to be really fun, and it’ll get your mind off of Owen.”

I shake my head. “I’m not in the mood.” I’ll move on eventually, but that doesn’t mean it has to be today.

“Well, I’m not going to let you sulk.” She pulls on me until I’m sitting up. “Now, you’re going to get up, get dressed, and go with your best friend to the bar to find another guy.”

“But I…”

“No exceptions!” She cuts me off. “Get up, now!” She gets off the best. “I’ll go get ready myself and when I come back you’d better be ready too or else.”

I would say that her words are just an empty threat, but with Anastasia…I can never be too sure.

She bounds out of the room, and I sigh.

She didn’t give me much of a choice.

Maybe if I go, I can, at least, have a little bit of fun.

The neon lights of the bar shimmer before me, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across Anastasia’s eager face. We step inside, instantly enveloped by the thrum of music and loud voices.

I’m not much of a ‘bar girl’, but now that I’m here, I don’t think it would kill me to have a little bit of fun. And if I end up finding a hot guy to post on social media to make Owen feel the same way I did…then that would be a win-win.

“Come on, let’s get our drinks!” Anastasia urges, pulling me towards the bar. She really is a force to be reckoned with. The bartender greets us with a friendly nod, waiting patiently as we scan the menu.

“Red wine,” I order finally.

“Red wine?” Anastasia repeats with her eyebrows furrowed before she shakes her head and turns her gaze to the waiters. “Two frozen daiquiris please.”

The waiter nods and walks away while I frown at Anastasia. “I didn’t want a cocktail. I don’t want to get blackout drunk.”

Anastasia just laughs, not taking me seriously in the slightest. “There’s not a point in coming to the bar if you don’t want to get drunk. You may as well get your money’s worth.”

How could I have forgotten that my best friend is no stranger to having fun — usually too much. She was the party girl in college…and high school, honestly even middle school if I’m being honest.

“How much money do you think I’ll be spending tonight?” I ask.

“Stella, you make bank now. Stop trying to count your pennies and just have fun.”

I let out a quiet sigh and nod. She’s right. I can have one night of fun where I’m not watching the dollar signs.

The waiter comes by shortly after with our pink fruity drinks. The glasses are bigger than I thought they’d be.

“Cheers to forgetting Owen and having some fun,” she says, clinking her glass against mine. I smile back, drinking some of my cocktail. It’s sweet and bitter at the same time, so cold that it almost numbs my mouth, however I don’t care because I can feel it calming me already.

Anastasia was right. This is exactly what I needed.

Anastasia finishes hers off in the matter of a couple minutes and gestures to the dance floor. “Do you want to know what I see when I look out at all those people?”

I try to catch up, getting warmer with each drink I take. “What do you see?”

“A sea of men who can’t wait to meet you.”

I hum, my gaze drifting over the sea of faces.

“I don’t know that I should rush into anything.” The idea of moving on sounds nice, but actually doing it is something else. Owen is the only man that I’d ever been with. I don’t know what other men are like.

“Owen did,” Anastasia points out.

Yeah he did…with the first bimbo he laid his eyes on. “Don’t remind me.”

“Let’s dance,” Anastasia declares, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the dance floor. “It’ll loosen you up.”

“But my drink!” I exclaim. I’d almost been done.

“You can get another one.”

I feel nervous standing there, but Anastasia doesn’t and immediately begins to move her hips and shimmy, drawing the eyes of the men nearby. That’s something I’ve always envied about her. She does whatever she wants to do when she wants to and doesn’t care what other people have to say about it.

This time I don’t want to be a bystander. I want to have fun too.

I dance with her, not quite as smooth as her, but I don’t care. I run my hands through my hair and shake my waist. I may not have the biggest butt in the world, but what I do have, I shake.

As we lose ourselves in the rhythm of the music, I can’t help but feel like I’m leaving Owen behind.

He wouldn’t recognize this Stella, and something about that thought makes me happy.

“Stella,” Anastasia yells over the music. “You know you don’t have to jump into anything serious right away, right? You could just have fun and enjoy being single for a while.”

Her words strike a chord within me. I hesitate, my gaze locked on hers. “Define ‘just have fun’.”

Anastasia grins, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Like giving my brother Paul a chance.” The suggestion catches me off guard, making me choke although I quickly try to cover it up, so she doesn’t think I’m offending her brother. “He’s always had a crush on you, you know?”

“Paul?” I repeat, my mind racing to remember the last time I saw Anastasia’s charming, flirtatious brother. His warm brown eyes and easy smile had always made me feel at ease, but I never considered him as anything more than a friend. I definitely wouldn’t have that thought he’d had a crush on me. Until now. Interesting.

“Yep,” she confirms, her grin widening. “He’s been head over heels for you since we were teenagers. And even if you’re not ready for a relationship, I’m sure the two of you could just have fun together. And I know he’d treat you right, Stella. So why not give him a shot?”

As the music shifts to a slower tempo, couples around us draw closer together, their bodies pressed tight. I glance at Anastasia, her expression earnest. The thought of exploring something new with Paul is terrifying, but I can’t deny the unexpected flutter in my chest at the idea.

“Alright,” I concede, my voice barely audible over the music. What do I have to lose anyways?

“Great!” Anastasia exclaims, pulling her phone from her purse and tapping a few buttons. Then she grabs a napkin and pen from a nearby table and scribbles the number down before handing it to me. “Here’s his number. “

“Okay,” I agree, taking a deep breath and pocketing the napkin.

What would Owen say if he knew I was moving on? His opinion doesn’t matter anymore.

It’s time for me to move on.