Page 28 of Always You
She stays quiet for a second as she straightens the crease on her skirt which hugs her curves perfectly. I picture my hands roaming over her body, slowly gripping her firm ass. I bite my lip at the thought.
“We have nothing to talk about.” Her bright green eyes flicker coldly.
“Mila, I’m sorry for how I treated you these past weeks. I never intended to hurt you.”
She snorts. “You did more than hurt me, Dominic, you tortured my mind, damaged my soul, and not just these past weeks. How about five years? I realize your mom manipulated you. The pain that rips inside of me is knowing how crudely you thought of me. Did you not remember me crawling into your bedroom window to take care of you when you were sick in bed throwing up? Or how I was at the hospital with you here and in Arizona. How could you presume you’d be a burden to me?”
I swallow the enormous lump in my throat. I had forgot. Occupied in searching for her and love-hating her, I neglected to remember. Dipping my head down, I kick the rocks.
“Mila, I can’t change the past. I want a chance to meet my son. I’m so fucking sorry for everything.” I gaze at her, maybe the coldness in her eyes softened. But the coldness remains, her eyes are piercing daggers.
“I don’t trust you or your family around my son. Or your fiancée. We don’t know each other anymore, Dominic. You’re not the man I once knew.”
Stab, stab to the chest.
“I’m the same man. I promise you, only with you.”
Her eyes blaze with fire. She gives me a cold look and shakes her head. “I trusted you, but now your words mean nothing because your actions spoke the truth.”
I take a couple of steps toward her. “You don’t trust me, but you trust the fucker you’re with. How many men have you introduced our son to?” I sneer with jealousy. I know I hit too deep by the dark glare in her eyes. I’ve screwed up again.
“You think I whored around, asshole? I’m not you. For the past five years, I’ve been with only two men. I’ve only slept with two men, Dominic. It was just a hookup, quick fuck. Those men weren’t you. I’ve spent five years grieving you, dedicating my time to raising my son, going to college to better myself to provide for him, so no, Dominic, I didn’t whore around, my son has never met another man until now. Tell me how many women you’ve been with. I’m sure it’s more than you can count.”
Shit.
Narrowing my eyes away from her, I can’t look at her. I’ve slept with several women. They meant nothing. Then I dated Samantha. I stopped sleeping around.
“That’s what I thought, Dominic. I gave you my tears for five years, no more tears… because I didn’t lose you, you lost me.”
She opens the door to her car, and I slam it closed before she gets in. Rubbing my chest, the pain throbbing from her words, her pain, rips me to shreds.
“Who is he?” I ask, through gritted teeth. I lean into her car.
“Who?”
“The guy you’re with, the guy from the coffee shop.”
She blows out a hot breath. Staring at her lips as they form an ‘O.’
“We just started dating, not that it’s any of your business.”
I know it’s the boyfriend she told me at the studio, but I needed to hear it again.
“Why him?” I bellow, my voice strangled in my throat.
“Because, asshole, for the past five years, I’ve been fighting, struggling. I’m tired of fighting for once. I want to be fought for. If he accepts my son and wants to fight for a chance with me, then I’m willing to take it.”
She starts the engine, and drives off, without sparing a glance, leaving me standing alone with a broken heart.
* * *
The buzzing of my cell phone startles me as I get into my pickup.
“Hey, baby, I miss you. I’m sorry about our fight, I overreacted. Can you come over?” Samantha’s voice is gentle on the other end.
I should have felt bad for embracing Mila and betraying Samantha. After all the things Mila said, I feel like I’m being unfaithful to her by being with Samantha.
“Hey, sorry for not getting back to your message sooner. I’ve been busy at work. I’m on my way,” I reply.
