Page 43 of Teasing the Winger

She smiles and hands him the tarot deck.

“You are more than welcome.”

Karla walks us to the door and reminds us not to be strangers.

On the drive back to Sasha’s house, I can tell he’s worried, but I don’t know what to do to make it better.

“No matter what happens you have me and amazing friends surrounding you. You’re going to be fine, just like Karla said,” I remind him as I park outside his house.

He doesn’t respond right away, but he nods to acknowledge my words.

“Deep down I know I’m going to be okay at the end, but my gut is also telling me that whatever is coming my way is going to completely turn my world upside down. I’m scared.” His words are broken, and I see a tear trickle down his face. “How strong do I really have to be? Why does the universe keep testing me like this? I just want my happily ever after already and to be done with fear and sadness.”

I reach over and grab his hand. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve ever gone through, and I’m even more sorry that you had to go through most of that alone, but you’re not alone anymore,” I remind him. “I won’t ever abandon you, no matter what happens. Even if you decide that this relationship isn’t meant to be, I will still be your friend. I care about you, and so do many other people. Please don’t shut us out.”

Sasha takes a shaky breath and nods. “I won’t. Thank you for being so understanding.”

“That’s what partners do,” I tell him with a wink.

He finally smiles and gives me a gentle shove before leaning in for a kiss and then heading into his house.

I hate that he’s going to have to face more struggles, but I know that I’m going to be by his side the entire time.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

SASHA

This morning, I drew a tarot card to help guide my day. It was the Justice card, which told me I needed to tell Rio about my past. The card is about being good and truthful, and while I haven’t exactly lied to him, he deserves to know about my past to understand why I am the way I am. It’s not going to be easy, but it has to happen.

I’m finishing up cleaning my room, making sure it’s in decent shape when there is a knock at the front. I quickly rush down the stairs, knowing it’s going to be Rio, and smile when I open the door.

“Hey, handsome,” I greet him while stepping to the side to let him in.

“Hey yourself,” he replies then kisses me as soon as I’ve shut the door.

“Ready for the movie marathon?” I ask, and he nods.

When I was inviting Rio over, I didn’t want to say hey we need to talk, since no one wants to hear those words, so I came up with the idea of a movie marathon night. And at least if I chicken out on telling him my story, we’ll still have something to do.

“I still can’t believe you haven’t seen any of the Final Destination movies,” he says while shaking his head and following me up the stairs to my room.

“I told you I don’t love gore,” I mumble.

“They aren’t really that gory, but you’ll definitely get lots of good jump scares,” he assures me.

I shut the door behind him, then sit on the bed and wait for Rio to join me.

“Before we start, I kind of want to tell you something,” I say while fiddling with my fingers.

“What’s up?” he asks and tilts his head.

“I think it’s time that I tell you about my ex,” I tell him, and his brows shoot up before he schools his expression.

“Are you sure?” he questions, and I nod.

“I pulled a tarot card this morning and I’m pretty sure that’s what it was telling me to do. I know we’ve only been dating for about a week, but I really like you, and I think we have the possibility of a real future together. But the only way to make sure we start this off on the right foot is by me telling you about what I went through.”

He grabs my hand and brings the knuckles to his lips to kiss gently. “I appreciate you wanting to tell me. If you believe you’re ready, I’m here to listen.”

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