Page 40 of Hesi-Dating
"How was that?"
"Sucked. Some people luck out with their foster folks, but not me. I did get lucky to end up in a home with Bruno, Marino, and Amber at the end of high school. We've stuck together more or less since then."
"Must be nice to have siblings."
"You're an only child?"
He nodded.
"It is nice to have people who love you even when you make mistakes."
I glanced over, wondering if she considered me a mistake.
She asked, "Is there anything you need to give me the heads up on about the wedding other than your ex will be there and you're in the wedding?"
I swallowed. "You look beautiful."
"Your reaction already told me that. But thanks. That’s not really about the wedding, though."
"I should’ve said something to you earlier. I was just…surprised."
She laughed and reached out to squeeze my wrist, which scattered chills up my arm and set my dick on fire. "I'm just doing my job to be sure to keep the bridesmaids off you. I’m thinking as incredible as you look, regardless of it not being your best color, I’ll still be fighting them off."
"Kind of doubt that. I’m just me."
"They know the old you. The married you. This new, single you is someone even you don’t know yet. You’re something, Seth. Believe me. You have this kind of simmering sexiness that I bet makes women do stupid stuff around you."
"You can lay off with the compliments. I’m just me, too old for you and too busy to get into a relationship. And hookups? My first try at that didn’t go well.”
"Too old my ass." She snort-laughed a cute sound that made me smile. "Come on. Is there anything I need to know about today?"
"My ex…" I sighed. "She's not out for blood or anything. We don't really get along, but I think she'll behave. She's bringing her boyfriend and I…"
Joley watched me in silence for a few long seconds during which I should’ve finished the thought but didn’t know how to phrase it. "I'm going to assume the breakup was due to something major. You wouldn't walk away from commitment without something big. What happened?"
I compressed my lips. When Kara cheated with the man who'd I’d counted on as my number one friend for over a decade, it'd been a bomb. The guy had been on my side since high school. We used to run a fantasy baseball league and monthly poker nights for a group of guys. All that dissolved. I missed those nights of beer and light gambling with the guys. I'd survived. Yet I still didn't like dredging up the ugly facts of my life imploding. I dreaded seeing him, be it in passing or at social events like this. The deceit from both of them still hurt.
"It'd be something yourgirlfriendwould know." She folded her arms across her chest and waited.
"My ex-wife cheated on me with my best friend. The guy had been the best man at my wedding."
Her lips formed anO.Her arms fell to her sides.
"I caught them at his house when I went to pick up the leaf blower that he'd borrowed. He'd given me the key to his place because I was his guy."
"Like you had a bromance kind of guy?"
"I was the person who'd go in and sweep the house of embarrassing shit when he died."
"I didn't know there werethosekinds of friends. I need one of those. What did she do when you found them?"
"She couldn't deny it since they were…" I couldn't finish. "She blamed her cheating on me. Said I hadn't been around much. That I'd been a shitty partner. Her loneliness caused it."
"She gaslighted you. That's got psycho-bitch written all over it."
"It's in the past." I looked her way after I braked for a stoplight. "I promised myself I'd never be in that situation again. I refuse to cause someone to get so desperate to get away from me that she runs to the person closest to us."
She rotated to face me. "That break up wasn't on you. You get that, don't you? I'm sure your therapist made you shrink that shit out—and if he didn't then you need a new therapist to talk it through. It wasn't about her loneliness or you not paying enough attention. Sure, those can be factors. If she loved you, she would've worked it out. That's her blaming her weakness on you. She probably had a thing for your friend since the beginning." She took my hand. "You don't deserve someone who'd cheat like that."
