AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was the perfect way to end the most magical day of my life. But it wasn’t over just yet.
14
MITCHELL
"I want to tell you something, Cayman."
My head was spinning and I was drenched in sweat, but as our sticky bodies lay entangled on the bed after the most incredible sex I had ever had, it felt like the right thing to do.
Cayman had opened up to me at dinner about his life and his struggles. I wanted to do the same.
So, I managed to catch my breath and sit up a little taller, and as I brushed a strand of hair off his face, I told him about the radio contest and the three stories that had made me the quote-unquote winner.
The first two stories were easy to talk about. I’d shared them with Leo earlier, and much like Leo’s reaction, a mixture of sadness and pity filled the room as Cayman stroked the back of my head as I told him about Valentine and Gavin.
Now came the hard part. The third story. My biggest, stupidest, most I want to hide myself under a rock for the rest of my life dating mistake ever.
Sensing my hesitation, Cayman readjusted himself, resting on his elbows so we could look each other in the eye. "You don’t have to tell me, Mitchell."
"I know that," I replied softly. "But I want to. And in a funny way, I feel like I need to get this out of me."
I knew I could trust him, and for some weird reason that I didn’t fully understand, my gut was telling me that by telling him, I’d be unburdening myself, too.
Cayman shook his head slowly, looking like he wasn't entirely convinced but supporting me nonetheless. "Okay, but take your time. And please know that whatever you tell me, I won’t judge you or think differently of you. I promise."
I smiled gratefully and took a deep breath. "The last guy was Whit89."
Cayman turned his head, looking slightly confused. "Huh?"
"That was his online name. We, uh, never met in person."
"Okay."
I stopped. The only thing worse than being so fucking stupid to allow it to happen was putting it into words.
"We had a connection...via chat. I know it sounds moronic, but he was"—I smiled wistfully for a moment as I thought back to our initial conversations—"funny and smart and interesting. He liked the same TV shows I did. He remembered what we talked about in previous chats. He asked me questions about my life…"
My smile vanished. "Anyway, over the course of time, he told me that he was in some debt. He’d had a car accident a few months back and no insurance, so his medical bills were starting to pile up."
I took another deep breath. "The stupid thing is, I actually offered."
"You’re talking about giving him money?"
I nodded as a heavy, uncomfortable feeling settled in my belly. "Yeah. It was two hundred dollars to help him make his minimum credit card payment."
"Oh, Mitchell."
Cayman clearly knew where this story was heading.
"The next month it was five hundred. Then he had the hospital chasing him for unpaid bills. And"—I let out another breath, the shame starting to overwhelm my senses—"before I knew it, I’d given him just shy of twenty thousand dollars."
All the air vacuumed out of the room as Cayman’s eyes widened, before returning to normal. "Did you ever meet him?"
"No." I bowed my head, unable to look directly at him. "I began to press him on it until one day, he vanished into thin air. I had no way of reaching him. It was only then that I realized I didn’t even know who he was. It could have been a creepy old dude. A Russian hacker. A kid in Europe playing me for the fool that I am."
"You are not a fool, Mitchell." There was a softness in Cayman’s voice, as well as an undercurrent of what sounded like contained anger. "You are a good, decent person who’s been treated poorly by bad guys."
I snuggled into his chest, letting the tears stream silently down my face. He rubbed my shoulder soothingly, not saying anything.
