Meant to Marry Me
Always Tell the Truth

It was going to be a late night. At least, that's what Trent assumed when he'd headed home from work that evening with his laptop and a list of things he wanted to get done before he flew out to St. Louis the next afternoon. He hadn't gotten much of anything accomplished at the office, but by the time he was home and had eaten dinner, he'd finally been able to focus on his work and had gotten a lot of his list knocked out by the time his cell phone rang a little past ten. A smile came to his face when he saw that it was Bree. He was expecting her to call before she went to bed. He hadn't realized how late it was, but he was eager to speak to her. "Hey, babe," he said, as soon as the phone was at his ear. Immediately, he realized she was crying. Trent felt alarm building up inside of him as all of the horrible things he'd feared might happen cycled through his mind. "Bree, baby, what's wrong?" he said, sitting bolt upright on the couch. "Trent, I'm so sorry. Something's happened. I didn't mean for it to. It wasn't my fault. God, I'm so sorry. I wish it had never happened...."

"Bree, calm down. I can't understand you when you're crying. Take a deep breath. Are you hurt? Are you okay?" He'd understood a lot of what she said, but when she was sobbing and gasping for air, parts of it were jumbled. "Yes, I'm fine physically."

He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't in pain, but then, he wondered what might be making her so upset. "What happened?"

"Zach came by to talk to me about potentially leaving the band."

Trent's stomach tightened up as he thought about where this was leading. The idea that Bree could cheat on him--the way that Monica had--was unheard of. He couldn't imagine that ever happening. But where else could this conversation be going? She wouldn't be this upset at the idea of him leaving the band, would she?

"We were just sitting on the couch talking, and the next thing I know... he kissed me."

Sucking in a deep breath, Trent held it for a second and then let it go so he could ask, "And?"

She was quiet for a moment. "And... he said he was sorry, and he left."

Trent wasn't sure what to think. Of course, he was mortified that someone else would kiss his girlfriend, but she was awfully upset. He'd assumed there had to be more. To clarify, he asked, "He kissed you--and then apologized--and left?" "Yes. I'm so sorry. I didn't kiss him back. I pulled away. I mean, as soon as I realized what was happening. I never meant for it to happen, Trent. I don't think I did anything to encourage him. We were just talking. I hit him with a pillow because he said I couldn't be mean, and I was just playing, pretending I was being mean, and then he pulled me over and kissed me."

Fury began to build up inside of Trent, but not at Bree--at Zach. It took some big balls to kiss another man's girlfriend. Still, he couldn't let her think he was mad at her. She'd done the right thing in telling him immediately. It sounded like it hadn't been her fault at all, and she'd stopped it as soon as it started. "Bree, it's okay," he said, trying to stay calm for her sake. "I'm glad you called me."

"It's not okay, though, Trent. I should've never let him in my room."

"Bree, you had no reason to think that you couldn't trust him."

If you're loving the book, nel5s.org is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you!

"True, but I still feel awful that this happened, Trent. You trusted me, and I let you down."

"You didn't let me down, babe. You said you didn't kiss him back. He left as soon as you pushed him off. You called me immediately. In retrospect, you probably shouldn't have had him in your room, but he's a coworker who was there under the guise of discussing a work problem. I can understand that, baby. Obviously, I don't like that this happened, but I'm not mad at you. I wanna punch Zach in the face...."

"I wouldn't recommend that, Trent. He's a pretty big dude." At least she wasn't crying anymore.

"All the more reason why I should put him in his place for touching you."

She swallowed so hard, he heard it through the phone. "I don't want you to get in a fight over this. I just want to pretend it didn't happen."

"But it did happen, and I can't just forget it because he needs to make sure nothing like this never happens again."

"I understand that, baby. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Because he's a big dude?" "Yes."

Trent snickered. "I may not be as big as him, but I'm angry as hell, and that's worth something. I'll try talking to him before I break his nose, but if that isn't satisfying enough, he may have to pay through with blood." He realized how vicious he sounded, but the anger inside of him was welling up. His free hand was clenched in a tight fist.

"I love you, Trent. So much. And I'm so sorry about all of this."

"I love you, too. Stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Okay. I can't wait to see you." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I can't wait to see you either. I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?" Hopefully, she'd be able to get some sleep now that she knew he wasn't upset at her.

"Okay."

Bree hung up, and Trent set his phone aside, seething. He wished he had Zach's phone number so he could call him right now and tell him off, but he knew the only thing that could possibly satisfy the rage he was feeling was to actually punch the guy in the face. Even if he ended up getting his ass handed to him, it would be worth it to draw first blood.