Page 70 of Waiting for Acceptance
“He wanted to settle down. He said he wasn’t getting any younger and he wanted to have someone to spend the rest of his life with, to share his art with, and maybe have a kid to pass it all down to. I really admired his dream, but I just knew I wasn’t the one that it would come true with. I was what? 25? 26? I wasn’t even kind of ready for that life back then,” I scoff, waving a hand dismissively at the idea of me settling down back then.
“And now?” Ruby asks, and when I meet her gaze it levels me.
“And now… I’m with Fitz. It’s new but…we’ll see what happens.” They start in with theawws and squeals about howtheir girl is ready to fall in love; when in reality I still have no idea if that’s what I want. The only thing I’m sure of is that it feels good to be with Fitz. So I’m going to do something I never do and stop the thought process there—for now, anyway.
“Honey, Can I talk to you for a minute?” Tank peeks his head in the room and Ruby frowns in confusion.
“Uh, yeah. Sure. Be right back, ladies. Don’t talk about anything fun without me.” I look over at Tank, but instead of being met with one of his goofy smiles, or him playfully flipping me off, there’s a look of concern on his face—and before they disappear, I notice it’s directed right at me.
Well, hello anxiety. You weren’t invited tonight.
The conversation around the table switches when Taylor and Leah ask Shane about labor pains and what it feels like to grow a human, but I’m more curious to know what the hell has Tank looking so worried. Unable to steer my mind in another direction, I excuse myself from the table and head to the bathroom. I have no intentions of eavesdropping, but that doesn’t stop me from pausing when I hear my name come from one of the spare rooms.
“I’m worried about Lauren dating this guy.” I’m practically frozen in place when I hear the words leave Tank’s mouth.
“What?” Ruby laughs. “Why?” I can tell she seems completely unbothered, which makes me glad it’s not a shared opinion.
“You remember back when she had some work done on her car? I went to pick her up for lunch before picking it back up at the dealer?”
“Yeah?”
“I walked in to get her and she was coming out of his office and she looked really upset. Almost hurt, from the look in her eyes.”
Oh my god, he remembers that?
“Hurt? Like hehurt her?Hurt? What the hell, Tank? Why didn’t you tell me about this then?” Ruby sounds pissed off.
Great job, Tank. You got Ruby in fight mode.
“No. Not physically hurt. Well, I don’t know, maybe—” I don’t even give him time to finish that sentence before I storm into the room.
“I can take some of the guesswork out of that answer for you,” I offer quietly, giving Tank a grateful look. “I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation, but I did stop when I heard my name because you looked really concerned a minute ago and I don’t want you to be. Not when it’s not necessary.” He folds his arms over his chest and his brows pinch together.
“So we don’t have a reason to worry? He didn’t hurt you?” Ruby asks for clarification.
I sigh and check behind me to see if anyone else has wandered this way. “I was upset that day,reallyupset and I was emotionally hurt, yes, but the whole reason behind that was a big misunderstanding.”
“I don’t understand.” Ruby shakes her head so I continue. I explain the phone call I overheard and how angry I was that Fitz had been lying to everyone. How I thought he was a mole, only to find out he’s an acquisition manager, and that Jack and Barbara weren’t losing everything, but choosing to sell so they could retire. I tell them how he took me to get food that night and explained everything and that we worked through it.
I mean, I’m still kind of working through it, but that’s irrelevant.
“But he still lied about it,” Tank states, clearly not quite as accepting of the explanation as Ruby, who has visibly relaxed.
“He didn’t have a choice, it’s in his contract not to talk about it.” I shrug. Tank takes a deep breath, making him look even bigger than he already is.
“You know I’m just looking out for you, right?” Tank asks, and my heart squeezes in my chest.I will not cry. I will not cry.
“Yeah, I know.” I smile, fighting back the tears.
“You trust the guy?” I pause and Tank notices. “Lauren?—”
“Yeah. Yes. I trust him.” I shake my head, cutting him off. Seeing as how other than that one small incident Fitz hasn’t given me a reasonnotto trust him, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.
“Okay then. But if he hurts you, you have like four guys willing to make him disappear, just remember that.” He smiles and waves me over for a hug.
“Tank, I mean this with my whole heart, I don’t think after the Mark situation, I’ll ever forget that.” Ruby and I are bothtucked under Tank’s arms giggling when I feel him shaking his head.
“I stand by what I said. Then, and now.”
