AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I do too,” he adds. We’ve been dating long enough that we’ve had the parents conversation. His mother isn’t dead, but he says she might as well have been. Leaving him to be raised by his stepdad was one of the best things his mother could have done for him. According to Cody anyway, but we don’t talk about it much, just on the rare occasion she’s come up.
“Thank you for coming out tonight.” I stop him and look at him under the city street lights. He smiles as he looks at my lips and plants a chaste kiss.
Just as he goes to pull away, I pull him back. Wrapping my hands around his neck, he pulls me in by the waist and devours me. His lips melting in to mine, becoming one. All the worries I had about tonight are gone, just like any fears I had about him. Somehow he can make love feel calming.
“I love you,” he whispers against my lips. I say it back with a kiss.
After a few moments he takes my hand and we continue walking. The skyscrapers and office buildings illuminating our path home. The sun is long set, but the dark sky is nothing when the city is awake. The clouds are still visible in the dark sky, remnants of last nights storm. The possibility of another looming above us. There’s only a few people walking around, this part of the city usually quieter this time of night. My heels clicking on the pavement, the cars zooming by on the street, and the sound of nearby subways vibrating the streets. I know to a lot of people this might be overwhelming or overstimulating, but to me this is home. My father and I lived in the city my entire life, so these are the only sounds I’ve ever known. Even now as an adult, I can’t imagine picking up and living anywhere else. This place is home to me.Only now,so is Cody.
Chapter Eleven
“What was so urgent that we couldn’t talk about at Puzzles?” Riley asks. “You’re not pregnant, right?”
“No,” I deadpan.That would be the least of my problems right now.
“Then what’s going on?” She grabs one of the garlic knots and bites into it whole. Barking at how hot it is but not stopping, instead grabbing a second one.
“Parker got a job at my firm.”
“What?” The garlic knot falls from her mouth and I don’t even crack a smile. “You need to start explaining,now.” She throws the knot in the bag and grabs a new one.
So I start at the beginning, telling her how he started there about a month ago and how I never told anyone. How I ran into him that one day, how he flirts with me and how he’s been trying to see me at work more. I don’t know why I decided to tell Riley, maybe because keeping it to myself was killing me. Or maybe because she’d know exactly what to do next.
“Holy fucking shit.” She’s silent besides those words. I shove a huge bite of pizza in my mouth and chew slowly as I wait for her to say more.
“So Cody doesn’t know?” The dreaded question, I shake my head no.
“What about Parker, does he know about Cody?” I look away, but shake my head yes.
“Luna,” she groans and I nod, frowning.
“I know, I just—” I stop because I don’t even know what to say.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“I don’t know. I thought maybe this was a temporary job or something but now it seems like he’s never going to leave.”
“Have you talked to him? Like really talked to him about how you feel?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Luna, is it possible you still have feelings for him?”
I don’t answer. This is the question I have been avoiding even thinking about. I don’t want to have feelings for Parker, but it is hard to deny our history when he is around. Is it all in the past or are there some feelings resurfacing?
“L, you have to figure that out before you move forward. It’s not fair to Cody if you do.” She frowns.
“I know.” I sigh.
“Do you want my advice?”
“I don’t know, do I?”
“Yes.” She nods encouragingly.
“Okay.” I nod.
“You don’t have feelings for him but this thing with Cody could be real,isreal, and that scares you. The last time you let someone in like this, you got left in an airport. You were a mess for a really long time. I think it terrifies you that Cody could be the real deal and you’re self sabotaging by leaning in to Parker.” She’s calm and collected, but her words cut like a knife. Am I really leaning in to Parker? I know I am scared of Cody and all he represents, but I didn’t know it was so obvious.
