“And Westley?” Britt looks at me now. “Anyone in your life?”
“I have sort of been seeing someone, but things have changed, and now I don’t really know where we stand.”
Britt raises one eyebrow as she stirs her coffee, and suddenly, I’m sweating. “You could always have a conversation with her.”
I squeeze the back of my neck. “I know. She’s never dated before, and she’s got a daughter. I-I don’t want to scare her off, but I also… don’t want to lose what’s been happening between us.”
“Boom. There’s your conversation.”
I bury my face in my palm with a chuckle. “Thanks, Britt.”
“Just keeping it real, boys,” she calls over her shoulder as she disappears from the kitchen.
I take a seat next to Lee. “When you met Claire—”
“Which time?” Lee butts in, chuckling.
Claire started as a client of Connors Construction. I was her site supervisor, but Lee was the guy who did all the initial email correspondence. The two of them did not see eye to eye. A few weeks into the project, when they finally came face to face forthe first time, they realised they’d already met. Multiple times. In Claire’s bed. They met in a club, never traded names, and kept hooking up for weeks before finally figuring out who the other really was.
“The time in the club.” I pause, thinking back over the weeks that followed once their identities were uncovered. “Maybe it was after you met in the salon, whenever it was that you realised Claire was different?”
Lee puts down his sandwich, then dusts his hands before leaning on a fist as he no doubt thinks about his girlfriend. “I knew that first night when we met in the club that once wouldn’t be enough with her.”
“Was there any connection when you were emailing?” I ask.
Lee shakes his head. “Not at all. She was a pain in the arse.”
“What changed?” I ask.
“When we fell into our little benefits arrangement, I tried to get to know her more than just physically, but she would pump the brakes every time. She just wasn’t used to having that kind of relationship with anyone. She had a shit impression of men.”
That’s similar to Maevyn. Her whole life has been dedicated to Aurora, which is admirable, but I wonder when she does things for her. Over the last few weeks, this need has built inside of me to help her get there. To bring her joy and comfort. I want her troubles and her secrets. I get the impression there’s a lot more to her past than just the pieces she’s given me. She doesn’t owe me all her secrets, but I would like to hope that one day, she’ll trust me with them.
“When it was just emails,” Lee continues, “she did piss me off, but once we connected the dots, I could put those two sides of her together. The way she’d push back at me, she enjoyed it. Before she accepted that she wanted something real, I realised everything she did was begging for a reaction. Challenging me to go toe to toe with her. Give her right back what she was giving me and wait for me to do what she expected every guy to do—decideshe wasn’t worth it. We’ve been together for a few months now, and occasionally, she still pushes just to test how much is too much. It doesn’t bother me, though. I know she’s doing it cos she’s scared I’ll leave her, and she doesn’t want that. I’m glad I’m the only one to ever earn her love. To get that soft side of her. It just makes me love her more.”
“They’re not all like Claire, though. Some of them push you just so they can stomp on your heart.”
Lee and I slowly turn to Jeremy, who’s aggressively stabbing his fork through his rice.
“Jem?” I ask, checking Lee’s reaction from the corner of my eye.
Jeremy looks up, his face wearing a mask of resentment. In a second, it’s like he seems to remember where he is, who he’s with, and the tension bleeds away, the happy-go-lucky guy we’re used to coming back.
“I’m just talking hypothetical, boys.” He chuckles, and his eyes flick between the two of us. “Nothing like that’s ever happened to me.”
“If you ever need to talk about stuff, if you need anything, we’re always here to listen.” Lee slaps a hand affectionately against Jeremy’s shoulder.
“You could give me one of your sister’s phone numbers if it’ll make you feel better.” Jeremy grins, the pep in his voice returning to what I’m used to.
“Still no.”
As Jeremy and Lee continue teasing each other, I pull out my phone, bringing up my text thread with Maevyn.
ME:
Text me after Aurora goes to bed.I need to come over…
As much as I love meeting her on the balcony, I need to be in front of her for this conversation. I don’t want her escaping into her house if it’s too much. She can take time to think things over and process what I’m offering, but I don’t want her hiding from me. I know that’s her comfort zone, hiding from things, her emotions, her past, but I’m talking about the future. One that I hope she’s willing to take a chance on.
