Nicole growled right next to me. "Who the hell says toodles?"

"That cunt-wagon," I said with a point in the direction Ashley walked off in. I considered for a moment that it might have been incredibly childish of me to be so hateful but screw that.

"You two are some hateful asses," Zoey laughed before pushing me forward. "It's her job, you know?" She tried to defend Ashley, but I had a feeling she was trying to tone down how bitchy we were in. She'd probably been with Calum, too. I had to remember to tell Tristan I'd seen her.

"She's still a bitch," Nikki and I said at the same time.

Zoey just rolled her eyes and laughed. "You two kiss your daddies with those mouths?"

"I do more than kiss your daddy with this mouth," Nicole added with a snort before we all laughed.

Chapter 26

I had barely closed the apartment door before I was whipping out my phone to call Tristan.

"Hey," he answered, two rings later.

"Hey! Are you busy?" I asked, knowing he was probably at home doing a big, whopping nothing.

The goofy man snorted. "Not at all. I'm watching a movie and trying to read. How was the show?"

"Good! It was fun, and Zoey dropped me off with all of my limbs intact," I told him. He'd already been warned about Zoey's god awful driving skills and the fear she put into my heart each time she was behind the wheel. Then again, I guess I could've offered to drive instead but I didn't.

"Nice."

I hesitated for a single moment, trying to decide whether I really wanted to tell him about Ashley or not. I mean, what if he decided he wanted to go see her since she was in town? That thought alone made me want to projectile vomit. Friends. You're friends, I reminded myself. If he saw my ex, I'd want him to tell me. I'd be curious to know whether the guy had gained weight. Ha.

"So, we were at the venue and this girl screamed at Zoey. Her name was Ashley," I started to say. His response was a low grunting noise, signaling me to continue. "I think it might have been your ex-girlfriend. She was really pretty with huge boobs? Reddish-brown hair and blue eyes?"

Tristan stayed quiet for a moment. "Did she have an annoying voice?"

"Is that a trick question?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Why would it be a trick question?"

I made a low noise in my throat that sounded amused. "Because she's your ex? Maybe you guys are still friends, I don't know. I don't want to talk shit about someone you're still fond of!" I laughed.

"Kaaaaat," he grumbled, but I could hear amusement in his tone. "We weren't friends. Ever."

I know he didn't mean for his statement to be a verbal punch to my ovaries but it was. They'd never been friends. Ugh.

Chapter 27

"Have you ever had a dog before?" I asked the man also known as Robby Lingus.

We were sitting in his Audi, heading to the shelter closest to my apartment. Since Saturday night, every other text message he'd sent me had been regarding our trip to look for a dog. Not once did he ever bring up Ashley again but the damage had been done. My stomach hurt for hours after we'd hung up, and I decided right then that I wasn't going to let it bother me any longer.

So, when the dog related text messages kept coming, I went with it. He admitted to me the day before that he thought of getting one because he was tired of being lonely at his house. I was excited for him. I loved dogs even though I could never admit that to Matlock. The only reason why I didn't have one was because the deposit for a dog at my apartment complex was way too expensive. I managed to get some writing done and was waiting for him on the steps to my building when he pulled up after work.