Page 25 of A Perfect Pairing
The pain in his voice magnified the one in her heart. She grasped his hand. “I didn’t want to, and I truly never meant to hurt you.”
“But it did hurt because I loved you. You were my world. When I got your letter, it nearly killed me.”
Tears burned the back of Natasha’s eyes. “And it killed me to send it. Remember how we made a promise to call each other twice a week?” Back then cell phones only had limited minute plans, and they’d had to be careful about using their minutes and not incurring overage and roaming costs. Most of the time, they tried to make their calls after nine in the evening or on weekends, when it was free. “It was fine for a while, but then you started missing our scheduled calls. I wasn’t worried at first because I knew basketball season was in full swing.” A nostalgic smile curved her lips. “I used to love watching you play and was so excited you’d attended a school that televised your games. Until the one where you scored thirty-three points and hit the buzzer-beating basket to win the game.”
“I remember that game. I couldn’t wait to call you. When I finally made it back to my dorm, I tried several times that night and the next two nights and you never answered.”
“Because I sawher.”
Antonio sat up straight and frowned. “Her, who?”
Natasha averted her gaze. “The cheerleader who practically jumped into your arms at the end of the game. It made me wonder why she would feel so comfortable doing that if she didn’t know you.” She lifted her eyes to his. “If there was nothing going on between you.”
He sat for a moment, seemingly contemplating her words. “I remember now.” Shifting in his seat, he took both her hands and brought them to his lips. “Tasha, baby, there wasnothinggoing on with that girl. I didn’t know her, not even her name. I’m not going to lie and tell you she didn’t make her interest in me known, but I told her I already had a girl,you. Every guy in my dorm knew how much I loved you and teased me mercilessly. But I didn’t care. You were all that mattered.” He got up and paced.
“And then… when I called that night, a girl answered your phone.” Natasha had been crushed, and that’s when she decided to end things.
Antonio froze, then spun around. “What?No girl should’ve answered my phone. I didn’t even have it. Because of the game, I’d left it in my room, and Ineverhad a girl in my room.” He scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. “But my roommate did. It had to be her who answered the phone. She was there when I got back, and she never said anything about taking a call.” He shook his head.
“But I didn’t know that because you never answered my second call that night. We hadn’t talked for a good three weeks, and I didn’t know what to think.” Relief flooded her knowing he hadn’t been involved with the cheerleader or some other girl, and she finally understood why he’d ignored her attempt to apologize after she’d sent the letter. It had only taken a few days to realize that she still loved him and wanted to try again. But by the time she returned home after visiting her grandparents during the first part of the Christmas break, he’d already left, and her call to apologize was never returned.
“And you didn’t answer mine, either,” he said and dropped back down on the sofa. “How could you think I’d cheat on you? We were together fortwoyears.” Antonio threw up his hands. “Hell, even longer than that if we count the year and a half we dated secretly behind our parents’ backs.” Her parents had explicitly forbidden her to date until she turned sixteen, but they’d used studying and hanging out with other friends as covers. “There had to be some other reason you didn’t trust me.”
Trust. No one could’ve told Natasha she didn’t trust Antonio. She did. Until she started listening to her so-called friends telling her she was a fool for believing he’d remain faithful with all those beautiful girls willing to engage in no-strings-attached sexual relationships with athletes. Serenity had been the only one who tried to talk some sense into Natasha. And she hated herself for not listening to her one true friend. “It wasn’t you at first, not really. I’d seen several of the football and basketball players at school claim to have ‘a girl back home,’ yet they slept around. And a lot of the girls kept telling me you were probably doing the same, even though those girls didn’t mean anything to you.”
“So, basically, I’d screw around to keep myself busy until I finished school, then come home and marry the hometown girl.”
When he put it that way, it sounded crass, and she felt like even a bigger fool. “Something like that, I guess.” Natasha buried her head in her hands as the tears she’d tried to hold back came in waves. “I messed up,” she cried. “I’m so sorry I messed us up.”
“Tasha, look at me, sweetheart.”
Her head popped up at the endearment.
“You’re right. I wanted to lay all the blame at your door, but these past few weeks I’ve done some thinking, and I was wrong, too. I missed a few of our calls because I was studying. Seriously. Trying to do the dual business and engineering program while playing ball was kicking my butt, not to mention finals. But I figured since it had been only two or three weeks since our last conversation, we’d catch up when I got back.” Antonio quieted. “You’ll never know how much it broke my heart getting that letter from you three days before coming home and then arriving and finding you gone.” He closed his eyes briefly. “But you’re right. Ishouldhave called you to tell you I was studying, and I should’ve listened when you called and tried to apologize, but I was too angry. So yeah, I messed us up, too, and I’m sorry. So sorry.”
The softness in his eyes and the sincerity in his voice as he moved closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder were her undoing, and the tears fell faster. How could she have believed he’d cheat on her? They’d lost so much. He didn’t speak, just held her as she cried out years of guilt and pain.
Antonio lifted her head and wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb. “Grandma Nora said something to me when I first got back that I ignored initially, but I get it now. She said we have our youth to make mistakes, but sometimes we get a second chance to make it right.”
Natasha’s heart pounded. “What are you saying?” Surely he didn’t mean…
“I’m saying we have a second chance to get it right, and I want to take it. Tell me you’ll take this chance with me.”
She sat in stunned disbelief. “I… um… yes, but we can’t go back, Antonio.”
He caressed her face. “I don’t want us to go back. I want to start from here, today. We can take things slowly and get to know each other again, if that’s okay.”
“Yes,yes.” Their lips met in a passionate kiss, one of healing and new beginnings, and Natasha vowed to do everything she could not to make the same mistake again.
It had been a little over a week since he and Natasha had agreed to try again, and Antonio experienced a peace he hadn’t felt in a long while. His productivity soared, and he looked forward to the time they would spend together on the phone in the evenings, talking about any and everything. He’d suggested they not go public with the relationship yet, and she’d wholeheartedly concurred. After the previous fiasco, she wanted to keep the town out of their business for as long as possible. Only her friends and his brother knew of their decision. His desire for her had climbed to an all-time high, but he didn’t want to rush the physical aspects of their relationship. However, his body didn’t quite approve, and he had the cold showers to prove it.
Turning back to his computer, he finished the payroll and finalizing everything for his meeting with the mayor the following week, then locked up for the evening. His sister-in-law had invited him to dinner, and he was looking forward to spending time with his niece. As usual, he was the last to leave.
Antonio made the short drive to his brother’s house, thinking about all the gas he was saving by everything being so close.
“Uncle Tony!” Noelle barreled out the door and ran to him.
He picked her up, swung her around, and planted a kiss on her cheek. “How’s my girl?”
