Page 12 of Tender
It was over. He couldn’t keep going. She was obviously cheating on him, and she was probably going to Ibiza with fucking Jake and her crew of people who were all clearly laughing at him behind his back. His only comfort in that moment was the look on her dads’ faces because it was obvious they didn’t know.
They’d been as fooled as him.
He couldn’t keep looking like a moron. He couldn’t keep being the butt of every joke she told.
It was time to walk away.
He closed his eyes in a long, slow blink and felt the cold reality set in.He had nowhere to go, no money, no car, and no family. Selene had become his world, and that was crumbling before his eyes.
“…some respect.I don’t know why you think you can just plan some trip and expect us to pay while you’re busy treating the person you love like this.” Miles had tuned out, but now he zeroed in on Cosimo’s lips. He was not pulling punches with her.The man looked furious, and his expression terrified him.The last place Miles ever wanted to be was on the receiving end of a glare like that.
She scoffed. “You’re being so dramatic right now. He’s fine, right, Miles? And, like, love is kind of a stretch, don’t you think?”
That might have hurt once. Hell, even yesterday that dismissal might have gutted him, but right then, all he felt wasa numb sort of acceptance. She didn’t love him. She never had. And he very much doubted whatever he felt for her had been that either.
“Why do you think we’re going to reward you for this?” Cosimo demanded. His gaze shifted over to Miles and they locked eyes. For a second, Miles couldn’t breathe. Then Selene’s annoyed whine broke the spell.
“Uh.Because you always pay.And I don’t see why it’s a big deal now.” Selene waved her hand at them. “It’s not like anything’s changed since last time I went out of town.”
God, he couldn’t take this. He needed a moment to breathe—to escape. He was going to do something embarrassing, like start laughing. Or crying. He was not equipped to handle all this emotion all at once. Not in public, anyway.
The room was massive but suddenly it felt like the walls were closing in.
“Do you mind if I excuse myself for—” he tried to say, but Selene slammed her hand on the table, cutting his words off.
“See!” she all-but shouted. “You’re embarrassing him.”
“No, they’re not. You’re—” he tried. It wasn’t them at all. He felt like he was going to buckle from the weight of their stares so full of pity he could almost taste the bitterness on his tongue. But he deserved it. This whole thing was pathetic.
“You do this every time,” she continued to shout at her dads.“This is why I never invite you to meet the people I’m dating. It's bad enough I have to explain the whole gay marriage thing, let alone how you even had me. Now you have to make a damn scene in a restaurant. Everyone is staring.”
Cosimo blinked slowly at her. “And you think that’s my fault?”
“Look at him!” she said, her voice going higher. She pointed to Miles and it felt like the entire room had turned around to watch him. Fuck. He wanted to die.
Miles’s cheeks blazed. “Seriously.It’s fine. Can you please stop screaming.”
Selene turned a furious look on him.“I’m not fucking screaming. And stop saying it’s fine when it isn’t.God, you are such adoormat, Miles. You’re so embarrassing. I don’t even know why I let you come out in public.”
“Selene!”Cosimo’s voice boomed. She went quiet, but her glare rivaled his. “We didn’t raise you to be like this.”
At that, she laughed.“No.You just shoved money in my mouth like a pacifier.This is definitely not your fault.”The sarcasm was so thick, he could almost see it dripping from her smile.
“Maybe I should go,” Miles said very quietly.
At that, Emmett turned to him, his face soft and his gaze cautious.“Please don’t.This isn’t the impression I wanted to make on Selene’s…boyfriend. We’re all better than this.”
Miles took in a shaking breath. All he wanted in the world was to run. To escape. To get the hell out of the room where people were still staring at them. But all of his childhood training to do nothing but make people around him happy kicked in.
How could he run when Emmett was now smiling at him?
“It’s fine.”
Emmett shook his head and reached for his hand. His skin was very warm and very soft. Miles couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him like that. He felt an inexplicable urge to let himself fall into this man’s arms.
“I’m so sorry, Miles.” His gaze flickered over to Cosimo who was still staring at him with that same intensity. He didn’t say the words the way Emmett had, but he nodded, and Miles swore he could feel them.
Emmett looked at his daughter, but Selene just scoffed and flipped him off before picking up her phone and typing furiously. So…that was that.
