AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want the honest one.” She replied.
Martin paused briefly before he licked his lips and spoke the first words that came to mind: the truth of how he saw it. “I was an ass.” Rose gave a soft chuckle, and her gaze lowered with his pause. “Though, not sure ass is a strong enough word.” She returned her watery eyes to his.
“I’d say it’s pretty close.” Martin chuckled with a nod in agreement.
“I don’t want to offer you excuses because there are none. Though I know how I treated you had nothing to do with you.” Rose furrowed her brows and scoffed at his words.
“They had everything to do with me.” She blurted out.
“What I mean is, I thought it was how I was meant to act. To be a strong alpha male. To not give a shit about anything anyone said or thought. Take what I want, have everything. There was no time to be sensitive. There is no time to be understanding. Anyone different from what I thought the world should look like posed a threat. It didn’t matter who or why they were the way they were.”
“You were a bully.” Rose bluntly stated Martin with another nod in agreement.
“I was.” He admitted.
“You made my life a living hell.”
“I know, and I know there aren’t enough words, or I’m sorry that can take back the pain I caused. The mark I made.” Rose swallowed; her gaze lowered from his. “I thought I had to be this strong man for my father, like my father. I had made up this reasoning that to be alpha, you had to be strong, with no weakness, remorse, or sympathy. Being nice makes you weak, or so I thought.” Rose returned her gaze to his.
“But…”
“But, I never really saw my father for who he was until I was older and he grew sick.” He paused.
“It wasn’t until he passed that I realized my father had two sides to him, and I only focused on the one. I never paid attention to the other, even when it was right in my face. He was an alpha, but never once was he cruel. He would have kicked my ass if he knew I made you cry even a little.” Rose laughed softly, followed by a sniffle as a teardrop fell down her cheek.
Martin moved closer to her, his hand lifted, and softly, his thumb moved across her cheek. Lost in her gaze, he felt a pull inside him that felt stronger than anything he had ever felt. How could he have been so blind to her? How could he have been so wrong about everything? For the first time in his life, he had regrets.
“Martin, I…” she lowered her head once more, Martin with a step back.
“I understand if you don’t forgive me now.” Rose brought her gaze back to his, in which Martin offered a soft grin. “But, I hope you’ll give me the chance to prove I’m not the same shit I was then.” He gave her a wink and a more significant smile as she nodded in acceptance.
He placed his palm along her backside, and with a gentle lead, he walked her to the second row of seats.
Waiting until she took a seat, he hurried to the podium in the corner of the room. With a smile, Martin snatched the remote from its holder and clicked two buttons, one bringing another view of the galaxy overhead, the second a song. He returned to her, sitting down as Rose turned toward him with a large grin.
“Is this…”
“Oh, I knew you would know this song.” Martin teased with a humorous laugh.
“Of course, Glory of Love, by Peter Cetera. I jam to it when I clean.” She joked. “Don’t think the jocks have Karate Kid on lockdown. Even us fat girls loved it.” She said with a slightly playful tone. Martin’s grin faded as he looked down at his hands.
“I need you to know,” he brought his attention back to hers, “if I could change anything I’ve done in my life, it would be how I treated you.” She smiled as though to let him know she understood.
It was their first peaceful moment. There were no judgments, no suggestions, or feelings of awkwardness. Leaning back in their seats, they watched the galaxies as they flowed overhead. The music continued to play, and they were the only people in the world. This is where he wanted to be and with whom he wanted to be.
She had captivated him from the first hello, her beauty radiating from her. Slowly, he turned his head to the side; his stare lingered on her as she smiled. How could he walk away from her now?
* * *
As the date passed, Martin and Rose walked hand in hand along the outside rock wall that lined the property, which sat on a hill overlooking the town below. As they strolled, they became lost in simple conversion, which covered everything from sports to favorite movies. Martin admitted he was a sucker for a good chick flick, Fifty First Dates being one of his favorites. They shared the same love of music and favorite comfort food of Southern Charm Pecan Ice Cream. Martin patted his stomach with joking laughter at how often he had indulged in that while he waited for his promotion.
“When did the job change for you?” Rose asked. “When did it go from just doing it for Summer’s off to caring?”
“Who said I cared?” Martin joked.
“Call it a hunch.”
“Well, I guess when my father passed away, I realized I had two choices. Continue to be a dick, coast through life, not make a difference and live on the remembrance that I played great football.”
