Page 8 of See You Soon
"Are we having a coffee date, or would you like to eat something?" He flirts. He arches a brow, waiting for my response. He’s confident. I don’t know how but just the way he moves; it does something to me.
I smile at him, thinking about his question. The same thrill of feeling alive returns when he says the word,date. His blue eyes are full of anticipation as he awaits my response. Thunder again hits the area making me jump up, stunned by its volume. The wind starts to pick up, growing stronger as it blows by us, causing my long hair to fly everywhere.
Danny sees me shutter and puts his arm over my shoulder and pulls me closer to him, protecting me from the harsh wind. His touch feels electric.
"I think I would like to eat," I respond to him after clearing my throat. I look up at him and I regret it because it sends a sensation in between my legs I hadn’t felt in a long time. He nods.
At this moment, I feel like we're in our own little world. A sweet world, full of tension between us. It was a really nice, short-lived moment.
"Ari-cakes?"
A familiar voice asks behind us, ruining the bubble we’re in. A voice I was afraid of. A voice that had broken my heart completely not too long ago. A voice that belongs to the person that made me swear off military men.
Shane.
Chapter4
ari
My heart sinks deep into the pit of my stomach. Hearing his voice brought back so many memories of abuse and heartache and here I was in between Danny and Shane. Both looking at me with confusion. Their expressions read,who is this guy. They both size each other up and I grow uncomfortable. I turn around to face Shane. He looks the same except his brown hair is longer. Seeing his face makes me go cold and scared. The Shane I knew from months ago, was a very jealous man and I can tell seeing Danny with me, bothers him. He starts chewing his gum aggressively the longer he stares, smirking at me and Danny.
"Oh Shane, hi..." I mutter. The feelings I had when I was with Shane come back but it’s nothing romantic. It’s fear. Like getting seen with Danny was wrong and I felt like I was cheating on him. It was like getting caught red-handed with the other man.
I had to mentally remind myself, I was single, and that relationship was long gone. I was finally out of his toxic grasp.
"How have you been Ari-cakes?" I cringe when he calls me by the nickname he gave me,Ari-cakes. He hasn’t called me that since we were together.
"Fine. Great." My tone is icey.
I didn't dare try to continue the conversation. The interaction between the three of us quickly fills with awkward silence and Danny drops his arm that he had around me.
Unsurprisingly, I’m upset and craving his arm to be thrown over me again. It felt natural. It made me feel safe.
"I'm glad to hear… you still get Chrome beans?" Shane asks, flashing me a quick smile trying to give me the impression he still knows me. But he doesn’t. He will never know me again. He will never get the pleasure ofhitting me againor his sick attempts to drag me into the depths of his abuse.
"I think we should get going." Danny intervenes. Danny looks like he’s watching Shane, intently. He furrows his brow at him as he gets closer to me. Shane’s shorter and leaner than Danny.
It was like he read my mind or body language. I didn't want to talk to Shane anymore. I'd rather get as far away as possible from him. It took everything I had in me to get over him. He cheated on me and broke me down emotionally,andphysically. Standing in front of him right now, made me feel like the old trauma I healed from was reopening.
Funny enough, he was the one who ended things with me. He cheated on me for the third time and left me for another woman who could give him things I couldn't. Every time he cheated; I would forgive him. I was so weak, I loved him no matter how much he hurt me. Then finally, when he was no longer interested in the woman he left me for, he came crawling back but I rejected his every attempt at reconciliation. I blocked him. I blocked his number and on social media. And I never heard from him again.
That is until now.
I cried for weeks over him. We were together for a few years.
When he joined the military, he became toxic in our relationship, and completely changed.
Of course, when you first begin a relationship there’s a lovey-dovey phase but then he revealed who he truly was.
For me, that wasn't long after he became a marine.
"I think that's a good idea," I reply softly, looking away from Shane and rather into Danny's blue eyes.
"I'll see you around then." Shane gives me a wicked smile and enters the coffee shop. I let out a relieving sigh.
"Ari-cakes, eh?" Danny asks me, humor in his voice.
"Let's just go please," I beg.
