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“Iswear toGod…”
Tejanofades and morphs intoWhiteZombie’sversion of “I’mYourBoogieman.”Wegrin at each other.
“What’sa predictable date night without our usual playlist?” he teases.
Myheart soars when he grabs my hand and pulls me away from the bar, beaming.Hesings the suggestive lyrics, swinging our arms and wagging his eyebrows.Thegolden open-faced tooth cap glints in his mouth.
Ising them right back to him, unable to stop laughing.It’sjust us and a handful of regulars in here, andIalready know we’re going to be that annoying couple having the time of their lives when everyone else here is trying to wind down after work.
Thesong fades andTejanoresumes, butZakdoesn’t drop my hand as we return to our drinks.Heholds it asIguzzle as much margarita asIcan without getting brain freeze and he orders another round.Westare at each other wordlessly, studying for a test that neither of us have a clue how to answer.
Therings onZak’sfingers clank against the sweating glass in his hand. “Youknow what’s stupid?Istill thought about you every day.Evenwhen we were heading to your parents’ the night you came home,Iwas wondering if you’d ever come back… and thenIsaw your car in the driveway.”
Mythumb rubs back and forth over his tattooed hand. “Whatwere you gonna do when you saw me?”
“Idon’t know.Screamat you?Kissyou?”
Imake a face. “Whythe hell would you kiss me?”
“Becauseyou’re my girl andImissed you?” he says with an inflection saying that was a stupid question.
“Evenafter all thatI’vedone to hurt you?”
Hepauses, mulling something over as we sip our cold beverages. “Whatdo you see in him thatIcan’t give you?”
Myhead shakes. “Y’allmight be twins, but you’re so different from each other.WhatIlove aboutAdrianis different from whatIlove about you.”
Thefollowing silence makes my eyes shatter wide open.
WhatthehelldidIjust say?
Hisgrip on my hand loosens. “Soyou love him, huh?”Zaksays flatly.
Myfingers clamp down, not allowing him to unlace our hands. “Youare the love of my life,Z.WhatIhave withDreeis so different from what we have.”
Hescoffs. “Yeah, like makin’ it look like you’re being r—”
Icover his mouth. “Idon’t appreciate the kink shaming.”OnceI’mcertain he won’t say anything else about it,Ilet my hand fall to my lap. “Idon’t know what to say.”
“Maybeyou can start by telling me why the fuck you cheated on me with my brother,” he demands sharply, his glare so intense thatIcan feel the burn on my face. “Ithought everything was great.I…Ididn’t know you stopped feeling the same way.”
“BecauseIdidn’t,Z,”Isay softly. “Inever stopped loving you.”
“Thenwhy’d you say no?” he asks, so quietly thatIhardly hear him over the sound of an accordion.Hiseyes shimmer like glass. “Youand me… we’ve always been a sure thing.”
“Whatkind of person wouldIbe ifIstarted out our engagement with a huge lie like that?”
Hisnostrils flare.Thegold ring in his nose glints. “Andthen the fact that you went toAtlanta.”Heseethes. “Youran off to be withTywhen you promised you’d never do that.”
“Ididn’t run off to be withTy,”Iinsist with a hardened tone. “Iwent toAtlantabecause of the studio.IfIcouldn’t be inTimeless,Iwanted to produce atDirtyPeach.”
Zak’sjaw twitches.
“Inever stopped loving you,Z, ever,”Iinsist. “Inever picked up a guitar whenIwas gone because it reminded me of you.Iwas scaredIwould do something stupid like drive all the way back here and show up at your doorstep on my knees to beg for forgiveness whenIdon’t deserve it.”
“Whywould you take that decision from me when it’s not yours to make?” he questions.
Westare at each other long and hard, daring one another to take the first stab.
