Page 23 of Forbidden

“Do you have cookie dough?”

“Of course. It’s your favorite,” he said as he handed me a pint.

“How do you know that? And my favorite from Palermo’s too. How did you guess that?”

“I didn’t guess, I know,” he said. “Your father talks about you a lot and I have to say I enjoy listening. When I was in jail, I didn’t have much else to do besides listen.”

“I didn’t think this was what you were getting when you went to the 7-Eleven.”

“What did you think I was getting? Condoms?”

“Actually, yes,” I said, laughing.

“I got those too.” His face got serious and he leaned in closer to me. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to fuck you right now. But this isn’t how I imagined it.”

I was stunned. The guy I had been crazy about had imagined having sex with me?

“You imagine it with everyone, don’t you?”

“No,” he scoffed. “I know what my rep at school was and there was a reason for that. I’ve had my fair share of pussy, but it all stopped when I saw you.”

“You are so full of it.”

“Here’s the thing, Rosalie. You are too good for me. My life is so fucked up, and you’ve got a future ahead of you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about us. We can’t happen. I’m a fucking black cat. I’m nothing but bad luck. Everything I do gets fucked sideways. Remember that day when your dad and Joanna announced they were married? I had seen you before then, before I even said anything to you. It’s my fucking bad luck that you’re off limits. And what happened with Seth was more of my bad luck, too.”

“Well, I sometimes think I’m pretty lucky, so maybe we’ll cancel each other out,” I said.

“You can’t be that lucky or you wouldn’t have left your mom.”

“What happened with your dad?”

He lowered his head and shoved a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

“You want the CliffsNotes version?” he asked.

“No, I want to know everything.”

A pained expression passed over his face. He let out a long sigh, then shook his head.

“I can’t tell you everything,” he said. “Don’t ask why, I just can’t right now.”

His eyes pleaded with me to understand and I nodded, afraid of saying anything that would silence him.

“I’m sure your dad told you about my pop. We were really close and what’s funny is you and I even met when we were kids, when my dad and Joanna were still together, but I know you don’t remember that. You had a doll with you and you both had on matching tiaras.”

I laughed. “I remember that doll. I used to take her everywhere.”

“I was a stupid kid, it’s no wonder you don’t remember me. I thought you were a princess, like a real princess. You were so pretty and you had that tiara. We were probably around six and I was too afraid to talk to you then.”

“Hmm, six. That explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t remember much from when I was six. Well, I remember one thing, in a parking lot, and I don’t know if it’s real or not. Anyway, forget about it. We’re not talking about me.”

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