Page 81 of Someone Like You

She rested her chin on her clasped fingers and stared at me over them.

I reached across the table and took her hands in mine.

“Thank you for meeting me,” she stated.

“You’re welcome.”

“I wanted to talk about us, Cas.”

“Is this a good talk or a bad one?”

“A necessary one. As I said last night on the phone, I reacted too quickly. I didn’t give myself a chance to process the conversation between Bethany and me, determine what was thebest solution, or even give you a chance to handle it. I was still upset about you allowing her to give you oral sex, and I freaked out.”

“You had every right to be upset, baby. You’ve been an independent woman for a long time. You’ve built something solid and strong, and I admire that. I admire you for wanting to have your own thing and not want someone else to take care of you. But mostly, I admire you for not laying down and letting something be taken from you.”

“But I did,” she replied softly.

“What?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine what else she had allowed to be taken from her.

“You. I didn’t fight for you the way you deserved to be fought for. I let Bethany take you from me like you weren’t worth anything. And yet, in these last three weeks, I’ve come to realize that you’re worth everything to me, Cas.”

“You did what you felt needed to be done, Giselle. No one can fault you for that. If anything, you did the only thing you knew to do. Most people would have done the same thing.”

“Yeah, but it cost me three weeks of loving you.”

“Let’s consider it three weeks of growth and confirming what we really want.”

She smiled bright and beautifully at me, and the rays of her smile warmed the cold depths of my heart.

“I like how you think, Mr. Perez.”

“Thank you.”

“But it wasn’t just that. I was scared too. I have been afraid of moving on from my past and letting it go. I was afraid to take a chance on love again because I didn’t want to get hurt. I didn’t want to lose another person and fall into depression because I couldn’t live without them. And you’re someone I could find myself getting lost in, Cas.”

“Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we were to get lost in each other? Just as easily as you’re falling, so am I. Which also means that I’m taking the same risk of getting hurt. It hurt me that you didn’t trust me enough to handle this situation for you, but at the same time, I understood. You placed a lot on the line to be with me. Of the two of us, you had the most to lose. I only had my heart to risk, but you also could have lost your license, your business, and your livelihood. And here I am building my future stronger, day by day. I get it.”

“At first, I worried that I might be a rebound and that I could get hurt. I felt that you were moving too fast in your pursuit of me.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Considering that your marriage to Bethany was arranged, and it wasn’t something that either of you seemed fully committed to. Your commitment was simply to satisfy a need your father thought needed to be filled, and you hoped that you would get what you wanted and needed out of it. You were settling in a sense.

“I never sensed a deep, passionate love between you two. Couples come into my office broken all the time, but I still can feel the tenderness they have toward each other and that desire to be whole with one another. I can still feel the love. I never felt that with you two. And that was before I developed feelings for you.”

“Your feelings were on point. I just want to know, are you invested in giving me your all now?”

She lowered her gaze briefly before she looked back up at me. There was a resolve in her eyes that I never saw before. “I am.”

“Thank you. Because I need that, for us to remain strong. On another front, I’ve got news.”

“About?”

“Your situation regarding your license. I wanted you to know that everything is settled. It has been taken care of. You never have to worry about anyone coming for you again.”

“What did you do?”

I smiled reassuringly at her and replied, “Your man handled business, baby. Now, can we eat?”

---