Page 28 of Accidentally Forever
She smiled up at me and I let out a relieved breath, grateful I’d gotten it right.
I pulled the tab on Aria’s soda before handing it over to her, and she raised a brow.
“I’m well aware you can open it yourself, but you did just get your nails done with Daisy. So why ruin the manicure?”
She snorted and shook her head. “Why do you notice things like that?” She looked at her nails and grinned. “But I do like the steel color.”
“I do not understand the need for fake nails like that, however I did like them digging into my back last night and on my shoulders this morning. So you do you so you can do me.”
Her cheeks blushed again, and I had to adjust myself in my jeans once more.
We sat down with a cheese and meat concoctionthat I had made up with some fruit, a couple of spreads, and crackers. It wasn’t much, but if there was cheese, I knew Aria would be happy.
“You know, we should probably talk.”
I drank the rest of my soda, before pulling out a water. “I hate those words.”
“Of course you do. And not just because you’re a man. But because you’re you.”
“I feel like I should be offended.”
“No. I’m in the same boat as you. I hate talking about my feelings. But we might’ve said that whatever is happening between us is what it is.” She gestured with her fingers at the two of us. “But it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
I shrugged. “Yeah? So?”
“So.” She rolled her eyes. “When we slept together the first time, we didn’t say anything. And then every other time we always said it was the last time. And we were mean to each other about it.” Her teeth bit into her lower lip, and I reached out with my thumb to rub the sting.
“I was mean to you because I wanted to keep you. Is that real enough for you?” Tears filled her eyes, and I cursed. “Shit. Forget I said that.”
“No. I’m not going to forget. Because it was thesame for me. When did you get so good about speaking about things?”
“I’m not. But I don’t know.” I sighed. “You had to deal with a liar for how many years? I don’t want to be that guy. Even if we just end up friends that talk about things. I’m not going to be the guy that lies to you. Or uses you. Or pretends that I need you in my life. I’m just going to be me. Are you okay with that?”
A single tear fell down her cheek, and I moved to sit next to her on the bench, straddling it. I wiped away that tear, before licking it off my thumb. The salty taste brought me back to the present, and I wondered if I was moving too fast. Especially because I didn’t know what I wanted. Or what she needed.
“You’re not him.” She let out a breath. “I’m going to tell you a story and know that I just need to get it out. So you understand. I’m not comparing you two. Okay?”
I nodded even though I didn’t want to hear about the asshole. However, he was the ghost between us even if the man still breathed.
“The first time I met Travis, I was trying to keep up with Sebastian on my skateboard. And not completely failing.”
I raised a brow. “How did I not know you used to skateboard?” I loved learning new things about her. Ishould have realized long before this how gone I was for this woman.
“Because I only did it for a little while. It was Sebastian’s thing. And Raven’s now that I think about it,” she said, speaking of Sebastian’s wife. “Marley would stand back with me, both of us pretending we were having fun and knowing what we were doing.” Marley had been Sebastian’s high school girlfriend and had died while giving birth to their daughter. I had no idea how Sebastian even moved day by day with what happened. But now he had Raven, and their family was a unit. The man was far stronger than I was.
“I can picture that clearly.”
“Well one day, Marley couldn’t make it because her parents were being assholes.” She rolled her eyes at that, and I figured it was a common refrain from what I knew of the couple. “So Sebastian and Raven and a few of the cousins were out there, doing what they did best, and I was trying to keep up. It didn’t matter that Sebastian was my twin, he always acted like the older brother. It’s just who he is. But he was in a bad mood because of Marley’s parents, so he left me behind.”
“I’m not going to like this story, am I?”
She gave me a small smile that wasn’t an answer. “Maybe. Anyway, I fell hard, and though I was wearing a helmet, I had foregone my elbow pads. Because I was aBig Girl and had taken them off when my family wasn’t watching.” She rolled her eyes. “So stupid. My parents were watching, and running over, but this other kid came over and immediately helped me. He had an ice pack in hand, a bright smile, and made me laugh. Because Travis was accident prone.”
“So he saved the day,” I bit out.
“Yes, and then he continued to do so.” She met my gaze, as if willing me to understand. And the sad part? I did. Because Travis hadn’t always been the wraith he was now. “We clicked right away. He was my friend, and then someone I crushed on. Don’t get that look,” she warned, and I tried to fix my face. “He never crushed on me. When college came around, I got my business degree because I wanted to make sure I could handle my affairs with my art or if I stayed with Montgomery Security. And then I ended up working with my cousins in security, because I liked the idea of owning a business. In the end, that wasn’t the right move for me, so I sold my shares in that, and put together the art house with my other cousins.” She shrugged. “I had my plan, even though it went in a few different directions. But Travis threw himself into art. He’s a brilliant sculptor, Crew.”
I tensed, hating the truth. “He is. When he’s sober enough to do something about it. I’m not going to lie,Aria. He’s fucking talented.” I let out a breath. “Even though I hate him.”
