Page 63 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

I didn’t even realize I had gone completely still.

“I thought if I stopped asking,” I admitted quietly, “he’d eventually choose me on his own.”

Andre gave a sad smile.

“James.” He sighed. “Love isn’t a guessing game. You shouldn’t have to earn the right to ask where you stand.”

I rubbed my thumbs together. “So what was I supposed to do?”

“Believe him.”

I frowned.

“He said he loved me.”

“No.” Andre shook his head. “Believe what he did.”

That landed somewhere I wasn’t ready for.

“He avoided the conversation. He made you carry uncertainty. He wanted the closeness without the responsibility that came with it.”

Andre held my gaze.

“People tell you what they’re capable of. The hard part is accepting that they mean it.”

I let out a slow breath.

Because that was it, wasn’t it?

Somewhere along the way, I stopped listening to what Victor was showing me and started listening only to what I hoped he would become.

Every time reality and potential disagreed, I chose potential.

Every damn time.

And maybe that was the real trap.

Andre was right.

And that should’ve been enough to let it go—to leave Victor in the past where he belonged.

But memories don’t work like that. They don’t follow logic. They don’t care about closure or reality. The moment you start making peace with the ending, your mind reaches back, not for reasons the relationship failed, but for the reasons you stayed.

And before I could stop it…

I was back there again.

The drag bar.

Flashing lights. Music too loud. People alive and electric.

Victor across from me. Not saying anything. Not moving closer.

Just… looking.

Looking at me like I was the only person in the world worth looking at.

Soft. Certain. Almost like he had already decided something I hadn’t caught up to yet.