Page 126 of The Fallacy of True Love
Groaning, I shook my head. “That’s insane. Isn’t there anything new to talk about?”
“I can’t blame them for being interested.”
I took her words with a grain of salt, knowing that she didn’t reach out to talk about my internet fame. “Why did you text me, Dani? I thought you blocked my number.”
“I did,” she admitted quietly. “That doesn’t mean I forgot it.”
My shoulders tightened.
“I wanted to tell you I’m sorry, Lonzo. I’m sorry for cheating on you and for how things ended. For freezing you out when you were trying to be kind even though I started this mess.”
“You—”
She gave me a sharp look. “I did. It took me a while to really own up to it. Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but you tried so hard. I’m sorry I took that for granted.”
Her words and the sincere emotion behind them caught me off-balance. I didn’t think she’d ever talk to me again, let alone apologize like this. “It’s alright, Dani. It was rough at first, but I’m okay now.”
“Good. I’m glad,” she murmured. “I ran into Shar a few days ago. She said you’re seeing someone?”
I hesitated, torn between being truthful and being considerate.
As if she understood, she said, “You don’t have to worry about me. I’d be happy for you if you found someone.”
“I did. But it’s complicated.”
She gave a soft laugh. “Lonzo, you graduated top of our class and qualified for a full scholarship to law school.”
“Relationships are different.”
“I know, but you can handle complicated. And you’ve always been good at going after the things you want.”
I glanced at her and found her smiling at me sadly.
“That was one of the reasons why I fell for you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
Before I could think of a response, she spoke up again. “I’m trying to do that too—go for what I want.”
“Does that involve Aaron?” I didn’t feel any bitterness or anger at the thought of him. There was only concern for this girl who’d been a good friend of mine.
“I told you it wasn’t like that.”
“I hope you find what you’re looking for then.”
She nodded, a faint frown on her face. “Thanks, Lonzo. I hope so too.”
When she dropped me off in front of Kada Kape, our goodbye had none of the heaviness of the one before. Nothing but a quiet certainty that this was how it was meant to be.
My phone pinged with a message from Maya—a photo of the beach that had me wishing, once again, that I’d gone after her. It shouldn’t have made much of a difference, her being away. The days we’d spent together were drops in a bucket compared to the time we’d spent apart. But maybe some drops, small though they were, created such a ripple in your being that they changed you on a molecular level.
Was that based on scientific fact? No, but science had never been my forte. I was all about belief and conviction, and both things pointed to Maya.
You’ve always been good at going after the thing you want, Dani had told me.
It was time to do that again.
Cam
