Page 79 of Taming Waves

I don’t speak. I just glare at him.

Then, his forehead comes to mine. “Please, baby.” He raises my wrist to his mouth and softly brushes his lips over my pulse point as he whispers his plea again. “Please.”

“He wasn’t. I picked him up this morning, and we went to breakfast. Not that it’s any of your business.”

He lets out a relieved breath.

“Let me go,” I retort sharply.

He leans back, and his eyes come to mine. “I can’t.”

I go still.

“Sure you can. It’s not that hard. You did it before,” I point out.

“Are you serious right now? Letting go of you has been impossible, Audi. From the day I met you, you’ve had this hold on me—like a magnet pulling me back home to you. Letting go? I can’t. I’m exhausted from trying. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

I scoff. “No, you don’t, and you never did.”

“You know that isn’t true,” he replies.

“Yes, it is. It wasn’t love; it was just youthful lust.”

“And how do you know that?” he asks.

“It’s simple. Lust is conditional. Love is unconditional.”

“How is lust conditional?” he questions.

“It’s physical and hormonal. It requires reciprocation or at least the expectation of reciprocation to exist. Once it’s been satisfied, there really isn’t anything left,” I explain.

“And you think that’s what we were?” he asks.

“And you don’t?”

He shakes his head. “No. I know what I felt and what I feel.”

“Yeah, well, lust feels a lot like love until it comes time for sacrifice,” I wail as I try to slide past him.

He stops me, and his next words rock me.

“You’re wrong. I love you, and I’m gonna love the hell out of you for the rest of my life. And whether that’s up close or from a distance is up to you. Your participation is wanted but not required. If necessary, I’ll stand at the back of the fucking room and love you from afar until my dying breath.”

I swallow back tears. “That wasn’t our deal.”

“Fuck our deal. I was stupid to think I could ever walk away from you again. Even if you had begged me. I wouldn’t go.”

“I can’t do this right now,” I say, breaking away and hurrying to the bar.

Jake is waiting just outside the door, and he opens it for me to walk inside.

I address the others calmly. “Again, I’m sorry about this morning. I’ll reschedule the meeting for a later date, but you’ll be paid for your time today.”

I turn to Jake. “You want to get out of here?”

He takes my hand, leads me down the hallway to the break room, and shuts the door.

“Sorry, Red, but I think this is where I bow out gracefully,” he says.

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