Page 70 of Best Man Speaking

Stopping abruptly in front of her car, Hallie looks incredulous at my question. Who can blame her?

“No. I’m really not. People who hurt you, who do it knowingly, they don’t change.”

I nod in response, a quickly dejected puff of air the only accompanying sound. Answer received loud and fucking clear. I shove my hands in my pockets, fingers brushing against both my keys and phone respectively. It’s time to go.

“Marcus, I—” Hallie starts, obviously noticing the same parallels I have.

I’d been hoping that she’d see something other than our past, but apparently not. And considering I’m still fielding calls from her dad, I guess she’s right. People like us don’t change.

“Marcus. I didn’t mean—” she starts again. “I know we were young. It’s not the same.”

“It’s all good, Hal,” I say. Because I’m not young anymore.

And you have to be worthy of a second chance in order to be given one.

I want to tell her now, to explain this whole fucking thing, but I have too many people counting on me to blow it all to hell without a viable plan B.

“Are you done with work for the day?” Hallie asks, changing the subject to what should be neutral territory.

And yet it’s not, because in an ideal scenario, I’d say no and suggest we spend the rest of the day together.

“No, not yet. I’ve still got some work to do,” is what I say instead. The comment about her dad only reinforces that we’re forever taking two steps forward and one step back, something that we can’t keep doing.

We stand together, neither one of us saying anything else, and neither one of us making a move to leave. Still, I resist the urge to take out my keys and go.

“Thanks for offering to come with me today,” Hallie says, and it just might be the most polite sentence she’s ever said to me. It’s enough to shock my brain back into action, to help me remember how we play this game.

“Thanks for not assuming I was trying to get you alone in order to bend you over a tombstone,” I reply with a blasé shrug.

“Marcus, what the hell?” Her affronted look is worth the uncomfortable step toward necrophilia.

“Hey, you only ruled out beds,” I point out with a smile. “Everything else is fair game.”

The narrowing of her eyes in response is perfection. “I’m about to rule you out altogether.”

“Liar,” I tease, finally satisfied enough with the mood between us to take out my keys. I gesture for her to get in her car first.

“Prove it,” she calls, opening the door and hopping in, a smile lighting up her face.

“I will. Tonight. On the floor, against the wall, I’ll bend you over something tall.” I sound like a dumbass Dr. Seuss, and I don’t even care. I open my mouth around Hallie, and I lose IQ points on the spot.

“You’re such a loser.” She rolls her eyes at me and slams her door shut. I watch as she drives off before I get into my truck, turning on the air-conditioning just in time for my phone to ring. Fucking perfect.

“Finally, you answer a call,” Johnathan starts. Nohello,nohow are you, just jumps straight into being an asshole.

I put my sunglasses on, taking my time to reply. “Johnathan, I have this thing—it’s called a job. You might’ve heard of it. I do itwell, I get paid. I don’t do it well, both I and the people I employ become unemployed.”

There’s no point in playing nice or pretending that he doesn’t respond best to a firm word. You give this man an inch, and he’ll take a lot more than a mile.

“No need to be a smart-ass,” he says gruffly. “Especially considering for someone so concerned with money, you no longer seem to want mine.”

Here we are, then, straight down to it.

“Well, it’s never come with terms and conditions before,” I reply, knowing that he’s already well aware of the fact.

“What I’m asking could hardly be considered as terms and conditions. It’s a simple favor.”

A laugh slips out of me. “Johnathan, we don’t have that type of relationship. I have a charity; you’ve in the past provided annual donations toward it. This year, you’re refusing to provide a donation unless I do you a favor. It sounds pretty conditional to me. Or is there something I’m missing?” I know I could’ve left the question off at the end, but I can’t help myself. I’m not missing a single fucking thing.

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