Page 107 of Game Changer
“Wait.Where the hell wereyouall summer?Where did you disappear to?”
“That’s not an answer.”Damn deflection.Nice try, though.
“Fine, yeah, I did.Why not?You were gone and clearly didn’t want to go.I paid for the trip.”
It makes me so, so sad that I wanted to marry this man.He’s not a bad man…okay, cheating isn’t exactly honorable, but he’s not mean or abusive.But he’s not…
He’s not Jax.
I bow my head briefly.
“Was it her who sent me those screen shots?”I ask.“I’ve been wondering.”
He shifts in his chair.“I asked her and she said it wasn’t.”
“Who else could it have been?”
“I don’t know.”He looks away.“I changed the password on my phone.”
I narrow my eyes at him.“If she did that…” I stop.“Whatever.It’s your problem.”
“So where were you hiding out?”he asks, changing the subject.“I know you weren’t with Grace or your other friends.”
“No.It doesn’t matter who I was with or where I was.I just wanted to get away from Chicago for a while.”
Our lunches arrive and we stop talking for a few minutes.
Waiting for the waitress to refill our cups and leave, I pick up my knife and fork.When she’s gone, I ask, “Why wasn’t I enough for you?”
I hate asking this.It’s the question I asked myself over and over again since the day I found out he cheated on me.I hate sounding so pathetic, but I still want to know.
He shakes his head.“Molly.”
“No, really.I want to know.”
“It’s not that.Look, I haven’t been in that many relationships.I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”
I blink.I still haven’t cut into my eggs bennie.“What?Not that big a deal?Cheating?”
“You went out with other guys all the time.”
My eyes fly open and my fork clatters to the table.“What?I did not!”
“Well, you went out with Jax.All those trivia nights.You’re saying nothing ever happened between you two?Or other guys you met?”
My jaw hangs loosely.“Are you kidding me?”
He waits.
“Nothing ever happened!I never cheated on you.That’s crazy.Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know.”He shrugs and doesn’t meet my eyes.“Like I said, I kind of thought maybe fidelity was…flexible.”
“Oh my God.”I didn’t think it was a problem going out with a friend; I certainly didn’t believe that fidelity was flexible.I’m trying to understand, but it’s hard for me.Cheating is a hard limit for me.Isn’t it for most people?Maybe not.“You should have told me,” I whisper.“If only you’d told me.”
“Yeah.I guess I should have.I don’t think I’m, uh, mature enough for marriage.”
Clearly not.
