Page 48 of Love in the Darkness

“It’s great that you guys can be apart sometimes,” I said carefully.

“Don’t dick around. Spit it out,” she said, looking at me flatly. “Something is wrong. What is it?”

I took a long, slow breath. It was awkward to vent relationship problems, since I’d never done this before.

“Everything is wonderful with Liam, but he’s sort of… Always here. He’s beside me every time I turn around. He picks me up from class, we eat every single meal together. It’s great that he’s still taking care of me, but–”

“Jesus Christ, you need some space,” she exclaimed. “Kayla, you’ve told him that you are a quiet little loner girl, right?”

“Well, not really? I mean, he asked me about friends when he first showed up, and I told him about you.”

“But you didn’t specifically spell out that you need a lot of time alone to be comfortable.”

“Not exactly, but you think he would know, wouldn’t he?”

Angie shook her head. “Listen, men and women communicate very differently. As soon as we both learn to shift a little, everything gets easier. Men, as a general rule, ask for what they want. Women feel guilty about mentioning our needs for some stupid reason. So we hint and suggest instead of saying things out loud. All you have to do is tell him.”

Desperately trying to stop wringing my hands, I said, “But he’s been so amazing to me. I can’t tell him that I want him to go away.”

“You don’t want him to go

away,” Angie said carefully. “You want a little space to yourself now and then. There is absolutely nothing wrong with stating what you need.”

She reached out to give my hand another shake to make me look up at her as she said, “You need alone time like other people need water and air. If he’s any kind of a good guy, he can’t be offended when you tell him that.”

Then she looked around. “You said he’s always here. Do you have him chained in the other room or something?”

I laughed. “I have a bunch of reading to do this morning, so I suggested he go to the gym. Reading is my calm place, the gym is his.”

“Grab your purse,” and she said, jumping up.

“Where are we going?”

“My dad put us up in a really nice hotel. Let’s go have a fancy lunch, then get massages.”

“I can’t just take off. Can I?”

“Of course you can. Kayla, I know you’ve never had a boyfriend before, but you shouldn’t feel like you need to ask permission to take off with a buddy. Send him a text so he knows you’re safe. Nobody can say no to a free massage.”

“Good point,” I shrugged.

Running to the bedroom to put on a nicer sweater and a pinch of lipstick, I grabbed my bag and locked the door. In the elevator, I sent Liam a text.

“Angie appeared out of nowhere, and has taken me away for a fancy lunch and spa day. I’ll text you later when I know I’m coming home. Hope that you have a great time at the gym. xoxo.”

As we jumped in a cab and took off to her hotel downtown, I realized how much I really had been needing some girl time.

I knew that Angie was right, and that Liam shouldn’t have a problem with me asking for a little space. But I’d never dealt with this sort of thing before, and it made me incredibly nervous.

After everything he had done for me, I didn’t want to disappoint him. I couldn’t let him think for one second that I loved him any less, or didn’t want to be with him constantly.

Perhaps a glass of wine and an hour of laughter would reset my brain so that I could think straight.

But by the time we’d had pasta and wine, a massage and champagne, and a martini at the hotel bar with a massive cheese plate, my head was spinning a bit. While Angie had one more drink, I had a huge glass of sparkling water.

“When did you become such a lightweight?” she laughed.

“I don’t like feeling out of control, you know that,” I smirked. “Besides, I’m still a little wobbly sometimes.”

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