Page 88 of All In Good Time

He exhaled deeply and kicked some water to the side. “I’ve given you tons of space these last couple weeks. I didn’t even try to get answers when Derek was living in my house for a few days, but you’re acting weirder than usual.” He motioned to the pool water. “I didn’t even know you could swim until you wanted me to get you access to the pool. We could have had pool parties at my house during the summer.”

That was kind of her fault for never mentioning it before. Even though she could swim now, it still made her nervous. Only with Derek was she safe under the water. Maybe this was her way of convincing herself she could live without him.

“We can still do that.”

“What’s going on with you?” He didn’t beat around the bush.

“I’m doing just fine, thank you very much.”

“What aren’t you telling me? You promised you would be honest, remember?”

How honest could she be for it to be enough? Her mind jumped back to the kiss—again—and she shook her head. Marty hadn’t reacted well when she first told him about Derek, and he was worried Derek would try to make a move on her. She wasn’t sure if this counted as “making a move” or not, but Marty might not take it well.

“Tell me.”

Honesty. He was there for her; he always was. He deserved some honesty.

She shut her eyes and braced herself. “Derek kissed me.”

A pause, then softly, almost in a whisper, Marty said, “Took him long enough.”

Becca’s eyes shot open, and she looked up at him in surprise. “What?”

“I get it now.”

“Get what?” This wasn’t even close to the reaction she’d expected. A grin was not a part of the list of expectations, and she blinked.

“You’re lovesick.”

Becca paused, tilting her head to the side, and tried to translate the words in her head. “Lovesick?” It felt foreign on her tongue.

“You’re moping around all the time because you’re in love with Stokes.”

What?

What?

“What are you talking about?” Becca said, her voice breathless. Her treading kicks slowed.

Marty lifted his hand. “Let me guess.” He ticked off a finger every time he said something. “You can’t sleep—often because you’re worried about him—and when you can sleep, you always dream about him. You don’t have the same motivation you did before. You keep thinking about how you could have done this or that differently. Especially the kiss—you just keep thinking about it over and over again. And it hurts. So. Fucking. Bad.” His eyebrows raised, and his gaze searched her eyes, looking expectantly for a reaction.

She felt stripped bare—of everything that had been bothering her for the past two weeks, maybe even the last few months—perfectly worded in a way she’d been unable to do herself until right now.

Her chest ached. Her mouth dropping open and her eyes going wide gave Marty the reaction he needed to confirm everything he’d said.

Leaning back, he smiled, pleased with himself. “See, I knew it,” he said. “Trust me. I was the exact same way when April cheated on me. It took, like, a year to feel the same.”

A year.

Becca couldn’t imagine feeling like this for weeks, much less an entire year. She might go completely insane if she couldn’t be with Derek—

“Oh my god,” she said.

Marty was right.

“Why so surprised, Lewis? If there’s one thing I know, it’s heartbreak.” He didn’t need to sound so cocky about something so devastating.

Great. Fantastic. Just wonderful.

---