Page 52 of Audra: The Prequel

Her face heated up, and she mumbled a "thank you," then mentally kicked herself. She didn’t need to thank him for anything. She was mad at him.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“To talk. To explain about Nami.”

“What is there to explain? You were on a date with a Victoria’s Secret model, weren’t you?”

He looked frustrated. “I already explained we weren’t on a real date.”

“Right. I forgot.” Audra crossed her arms over her chest.

“Nothing is going on between me and Nami. Nothing happened that night. Do you forgive me?”

His voice was antagonistic, as if she’d done something wrong.

Two couples came toward them. When they had passed, Damon lowered his voice. “I didn’t cheat on you.”

“That’s the thing, Damon. I don’t know if you did or not. You say that night was all orchestrated for publicity, but how do I know that?”

“Because I’m telling you. You have to trust me.”

“No, I don’t have to trust you. That’s where you’re wrong. Trust has to be earned, and?—”

“What have I done that suggests you can’t trust me?”

“Are you serious? Let’s forget about the fact that you didn't do commitment and were technically a mistake for other women—your words, not mine. Every time I try to have a deep conversation with you about your past or your family, you clam up! So no, I don’t completely trust you because you act likeyou’re hiding some deep, dark secret. For all I know, you could be involved in criminal activities.”

Shaking his head, he bit his lip as if biting back words of anger. “You don’t really believe that.”

“No, I don’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that you keep parts of yourself from me.”

“So because I don’t tell you my deepest, darkest secrets, you think I’m lying about Nami?”

“I’ve been here before. I told you about my ex, remember? Kerilyn’s father.”

“I’m not him!”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t see the signs and recognize similar behavior. The problems start like this, with a perfectly reasonable explanation that makes it seem as ifI’moverreacting, but the truth is, I’m not. If you cared about me—about us—you would have told me about the deal with Nami ahead of time.”

“I told you that I couldn’t. I can’t tell you about every single move I make before I make it.”

“We talk almost every day!” Audra screamed, frustrated.

“Time.” Damon slammed the back of his right hand into his left palm. “I didn’t have time to tell you before she and I went out.”

“Time.” Audra slammed the back of her right hand into her left palm. “You should have made the time to tell me. A text would have been enough!”

He looked like he wanted to throttle her, but she stared him down, unintimidated.

“I told you from the beginning there’s a lot of bullshit I have to put up with from the media—innuendo, lies, gossip.”

“And you used it to your advantage in New York. But here’s the thing, Damon, you say you want to be in my life, but do you really? You can’t continue doing things like that. I willnotbe embarrassed on a national stage.”

“That’s what this is about? You’re embarrassed?”

She shook her head in disgust. “No. It’s about trust, and I cannot trust you right now. You keep things from me, but more than that, before you and I started seeing each other, there were already so many women in your life. I was a fool to think you would settle down and want to be with one woman. You’re young and having the time of your life.”

“I have the time of my life when I’m with you. Why can’t you see that?”

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