Page 77 of The Other Guy

“Oh, boy. This is… well, a long story.”

I lie down so my head is resting on the arm of the couch, placing an arm behind me. “I’ve got time.”

“You probably need some backstory here. My parents’ marriage was far from normal. To say they ran hot or cold would be putting it mildly. So I saw passion in a marriage as a bad thing. Having someone in your life that you can’t take your eyes off or keep your hands off only leads to the hot and cold, you know what I mean?”

“Not really,” I admit.

She blows out a breath. “My parents, they were either fighting — loudly — or making up — also loudly.” I pull a face that makes her giggle and nod. “Exactly.”

“But what does this have to do with Jeff?”

“I wasn’t passionate about him. I was upset, sure. Mostly because I felt like an idiot for not seeing it. I also wondered if there was something wrong with me because I wasn’t all that mad. I lived with him, and liked him enough.”

“Liked him enough? Sierra, that’s not the way to look at a partner.”

“Bingo. That’s what I mean. And that’s what I sought out. Until…”

“Until?”

“You. You scared me from the beginning because even when we first met, I felt something stronger. This pull that tugged me to you. I’ve never had that before because I’ve made sure to avoid it. Every boyfriend I’ve had, I’ve always had more lukewarm feelings for. Hot leads to cold.”

I finally get what she’s saying. She thinks that you can’t have passion without the fighting. Because that’s what she grew up seeing. I can’t say that it doesn’t make a little bit of sense, but it is pretty sad. From the little time I’ve spent with her, I can’t imagine her not being passionate about anything in life, including what happens between the sheets. For her to think that you can’t have one without the other… well, shit.

“So you thought you would protect yourself by being with men who didn’t turn you on?”

“Yes,” she whispers.

“Why were you quiet this morning?”

“Because I knew I needed to tell you the truth. Because I didn’t know how I was going to do that. And because I realized I was in over my head with you and I can’t decide if I’m okay with that or if I need to protect myself.”

“Protect yourself from me?”

“Not you, you. From a relationship with you.”

I sit quietly for a minute while I let her words settle in not just with me but with her as well. Finally breaking the silence, I grin slightly and ask, “Relationship?”

“See? I don’t even know that much!”

“We just met,” I remind her.

“Yeah, we did,” she says but I can tell by the sound of her voice that she’s thinking exactly what I am. That how much time we’ve known each other doesn’t matter.

“And that’s what scares you most.”

“Yeah,” she whispers again and I wish I was with her so I could hold her while we have this conversation.

“Tell you what. Slow is good for me. I have no expectations. What we did while you were here was great but maybe it’s good to take a step back, too.”

“Step back, how?”

“Sierra, I don’t yet know your last name, would you go on a date with me Saturday night?”

“Jack, I think your last name is Cole but I can’t be positive, yes, I’d love to.”

“Good. And… last name?”

“Don’t you know Kyle’s last name?”

“Not all uncles and nieces share last names,” I remind her, scratching my cheek.

“Oh, right. Well, we do. Harthorn in case you didn’t know.”

“Sierra Harthorn, I look forward to Saturday.”

She smiles brightly but then blushes and places a hand in front of her mouth to cover it up. “Me, too.”

Saying goodbye seems to be hard for both of us so I just hit end, and again hate the silence that fills my house.

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