She sighs.
I don’t think she likes that answer.I take a deep breath, knowing I need to open up to her to gain her trust so she’ll lower her own walls.
“We went to school together, right?”
She frowns.“Yeah.”
“You want to know why I didn’t notice you back then?”I ask, putting the garlic bread into the oven.
“I already know why,” she mumbles, her face flaming with a blush.
“Why do you think?”
She waves to her body, looking embarrassed.
I shake my head.“You’re fucking gorgeous, baby.It’s definitely not that.”
“Then why?”
“I didn’t notice anyone back then.I couldn’t.”
She watches me, waiting for me to go on.
I clear my throat.“My mom left when I was a kid.”
“Devon, I’m sorry.I thought she died?”Suri says softly.
I shake my head.“That’s what my dad told everyone.It was easier than the truth.Didn’t make him look like an abusive asshole.It made him the victim.”
Suri’s lips compress, and she waits for me to go on.
“My dad is an asshole.Or was?I don’t even know if he’s still alive.I don’t care to know.”
“He was abusive?”
“Yeah.I was a burden.Worthless.Unlovable.I was told something along those lines all my life.He’d smack me around, hit me with his belt, whale on me if I royally pissed him off or embarrassed him.”
“I had no idea,” she whispers.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want anyone to know.It was easier that way.I tried to tell a teacher when I was in third grade, and when that backfired, I realized I needed to keep my head down and come up with a way out.”
“The military.”Suri’s eyes fill with tears, and I can see her heart breaking for me.
“Yeah.”I turn to add the spaghetti to the boiling water.
“So, even if I had asked you out back in high school…”
I shrug.“I honestly don’t know.I think I would have taken one look at you and been unable to stay away from you.Then I remember what it was like, and I know I would have had to, or you would have been in his sights, which meant you would have been in danger.”
She mulls over my words as I stir the spaghetti.
“Why didn’t you ask me out back then?”
“Because I look like this,” she states.
I devour the sight of her curvy little body.“I know.It’s a goddamn miracle that you’re still single.Lucky for me, or I’d probably be on trial for murder by now.”
“Oh my god,” she groans, rolling her eyes, but I can tell that she’s pleased by my words.
