Page 137 of The Fallacy of True Love
She giggled. “Thanks, Cam. Are we your faves though?”
“After Jo.”
“Yeah, right.” Her smile dimmed, and she murmured, “I don’t want to mess us up.”
“You won’t. The way you two are with each other? You’re gonna make it work,” I reassured her like I was the authority on relationships.
She raised a brow at me. “Why are you all for me and Eric getting together but not you and Lonzo?”
“You already have the foundation of friendship going on. And you two are good people. So’s he. Me?” I shrugged.
Leaning toward me, she said, “Cam. Just because you can be grouchy and defensive and you’ve been let down does not mean you aren’t a good person. There are other people who get you, like me and Eric…oh, and you know, Lonzo. The rest don’t matter.”
I cleared my throat, feeling raw. Exposed. Alonzo’s declaration on our first date came back to me. “Did you talk to Alonzo about this? Because he told me something similar before.”
She chuckled. “No, but that just proves me right. He’s exactly what you need, and if you’ll be honest with yourself, you’ll see that too.”
I sat with those words for the rest of the day, letting myself come to terms with the truth I’d tried to ignore.
After years of being alone and keeping myself apart from people, I had my little circle. And it was growing. I hadn’t expected it and I still couldn’t believe it, but this was my life now.
At least it could be if I could be brave like Nikki and let myself jump into this thing with Alonzo. Fears and hesitations be damned.
I’d thought my feelings for him would fade with every day that passed, but the opposite was happening. Each note and conversation revealed more of Alonzo’s depths—his thoughtfulness, humor, and vulnerability, and also his patience and constancy. Each piece of him that I discovered had me falling further into unfamiliar waters.
Good thing I was a great swimmer.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Alonzo
Catching my breath, I toweled off my sweat and grabbed my water bottle. A robotic voice narrated my case assignment in my ears as I rolled up my exercise mat and placed it back in our garage closet. I was still getting my rhythm back after skipping workouts last week, but I felt stronger. Less stressed.
I headed inside the house to have a late dinner, only to pull up short when I found Papa watching TV in the living room. Mama was nowhere to be found.
I almost changed my mind about eating, but my stomach was growling and I had hours of studying to fuel up for. So I ignored my trepidation and feigned nonchalance as I prepared my plate of leftover torta and rice.
From the corner of my eye, I tracked Papa walking into the kitchen. My finger froze on the microwave controls as he stood behind his usual chair at the dining table.
This was the first time we were alone together since Sunday, both of us avoiding each other. All I wanted was to go to my room and eat dinner while catching up with Maya, but Papa obviously wanted to talk. And it was overdue anyway.
Pressing start, I took off my earphones and braced myself.
“I’m sorry about Dani,” he said gruffly.
Now that I didn’t seem coming. “That’s in the past. I’m okay with it now—we both are.”
He was quiet. “I didn’t know about it until recently.”
Was it just me or was there hurt in his voice?
“I didn’t think you’d be interested.” You didn’t seem to like her anyway, I held back from adding.
Papa put a hand on the back of his chair. “I wish you’d told me. It would have helped me understand why you acted out of the ordinary last Christmas.”
Would you have understood, or would you have told me that I shouldn’t let a relationship distract me from my goals?
“I had to hear about it from your mom,” he continued. “Just like when you have plans to sleep somewhere else or use the car.”
