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“I want to believe you,” she whispered. “Really I do.”
They remained silent for so long she was afraid to look at him. She kept her focus on her lap once more, sitting cross-legged on the bed, having the most important discussion of her life, and it was crumbling right before her eyes.
The mattress shifted as Nick climbed out of the bed and she looked up, watched as he slipped on his clothes methodically, his expression grim, his eyes dark with anger.
Shock coursed through her. Had she ever seen him look that mad? “So you’re leaving?”
“Isn’t that what you want? This isn’t going to work and you know it. I’m honest with you, and you still toss it back in my face. You can’t even trust me to fucking stay with you.” He slipped on his jeans, zipped, and snapped them closed. “I was twenty-one. Twenty-stupid-one and you won’t ever let me forget how I tossed you aside like yesterday’s trash. You don’t think that bothers me? That I don’t beat myself up for it every single day? I hate that I hurt you so much. I hate that you didn’t know how much I wanted to stay with you when your father pushed me right out of your life. And I was too much of a pussy to tell him to fuck off and be with you anyway. I was in love with you, Will. I bet you didn’t know that, huh?”
No way did he just say that again.
“I left and I felt empty without you. Only you could make me whole, but you were off-limits. So life went on. I played ball, I traveled a lot, and I met a bunch of women. My life turned into one big, never-ending party. Girls just wanted to get with me, you know?”
She flinched. “I don’t want to hear about all your other girls.”
“Fine. You’re right. They don’t matter. You’re the only girl who matters. You’ll always be the only girl who matters to me. But I guess I fucked it up too much to make it work. So I’m outta here.”
He fled her bedroom, and she scrambled out, following right behind him, still clutching the sheet to her naked body. “So this is how it’s going to end?” Why did she just ask that? And why did she want him to stay? He used her. Everything he said she couldn’t take at face value. He was a liar.
He was in love with you. He probably still is. And you’re in love with him.
She stopped short, her lips parted, the words dying to fall from her tongue. But she clamped her mouth shut before she could say them and make a fool of herself.
“Yep.” He wouldn’t even look at her. Just headed straight toward her door with all the determination of a pissed off bull looking again for that flash of red. “Just know that I’m not the only one behind our first breakup. Remember that.”
Her heart twisted. She could hardly wrap her head around the idea of her father telling Nick to leave her alone. Was it the truth? It had to be. Nick wouldn’t lie to her about something like that. “What about our remaining dates?” she called to him, wishing he would look at her. “We still have three to go.”
“Consider them canceled.” He reached for the door handle and paused, his back still to her, his shoulders hunched.
She had the sudden urge to run to him, to cling to his body and quietly beg him not to leave. Plead with him to come back to bed so they could snuggle. Hell, she even wanted to…apologize. And she rarely apologized.
What would she do without him? Just that quick, he’d wormed his way into her life—and heart—and now just as quick, he was leaving her?
Typical.
“Then go,” she whispered. “Leave, like you’re so good at. I dealt with your abandonment before. I can deal again.”
“That’s not fair.” His voice was ragged as he tipped his head down, hitting the door with a soft thump.
“I never said I played fair. You never did either.” She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that threatened, but it was no use. One slipped down her cheek, not that he would ever see it. He wouldn’t even look at her. “Just go,” she whispered.
And he did.
…
“So what happened? Did you convince Willow to go back home with you for Christmas?” Harvey asked hopefully.
They’d just come in from a particularly brutal practice. The last thing Nick wanted was to talk to the overeager publicist. “Aren’t I Aubrey’s responsibility now?”
Harvey flashed him a smile. “She’s handling an interview for Foley at the moment. Besides, this was our deal, right? So tell me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing’s going on.” Nick headed into the locker room, Harvey trailing after him. “She’s not going with me, Harv, so quit following my ass.”
“She’s not going with you? Are you serious?” Harvey asked incredulously. “Damn it, I just sent out a press release about your relationship.”
Of course he did. “Don’t I sound serious enough for you?”
Harvey stopped short when Nick turned on him. “What happened? Did she say no?”
