Page 27 of Love Off the Rocks
“So, Mags, I need to know. Why did you go after graduation? Why did you leave instead of coming with me to New York City?”
I’m not surprised by his question. We had to get to it at some point. He’s already hinted at it earlier in the day and I’m sure in his mind that’s exactly how it seemed. That I just chose not to go with him. But he’s misremembering the facts.
I take a breath before answering. “Like I said earlier, you didn’t ask me to.”
“But I did,” he protests.
“You didn’t.” I tilt my head back against his chest and look up, trying to catch his gaze. All I can see if the bottom of his jaw and a small patch of whiskers he missed when he shaved this morning.
“In what universe do you think I would leave and not ask you to come with me?”
“In the one we live in, Dev. Because that’s what happened.”
“It’s not.” His arms tighten around me as though to emphasize his point. “I’ve been thinking about it since you said that earlier. And I distinctly remember the conversation. I said when you get to New York, we can do a bunch of cheesy touristy stuff and you completely ignored me.”
“You think that was you asking me to go with you?”
“I do, because it was.” He takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly, the force brushing my hair against my cheek. “I get where you think I didn’t ask—”
“Because you didn’t.”
“—but at the same time, it never occurred to me I had to,” he finishes.
My brow furrows as I try to decipher what he means by that. Finally, I just ask him. “Why not?”
“Because our future together was the one thing I never doubted.”
“So, you just assumed I would follow you wherever, without even discussing it with me first, and give up all my plans?” My face heats. It’s getting warmer under the blanket, but I don’t want to open it for fear of being cold again. “For what?”
“For us so that we could be together.” He leans in and nuzzles the side of my face gently. I don’t even think he realizes it. Much like the kiss to the top of my head earlier, it’s like muscle memory when I’m near.
I’ve missed that.
“But I had plans too, Dev.”
“You didn’t have a job offer.”
He’s right.
“Well, no. But we had a plan.”
“Plans change, Mags. They are flexible by nature. An intention by definition. And if that road trip meant so much to you, why didn’t you just tell me? I could have tried to postpone my start date and we could have still done it.”
“That wasn’t the point.” Tears pool in my eyes once again, and I squeeze them shut, focusing on my breathing until I feel more in control. I hate emotions.
“What was the point?” He takes my hand in his and lays it out on my thigh before covering it with his own. As always, his touch has a calming effect on me.
“The point was that you didn’t even tell me about the job before you accepted it. We had all these plans, and you changed them single-handedly, without even thinking about or consulting me.”
His chin drops to my shoulder and I expect him to argue with me.
“I’m sorry.”
His apology deflates me and I’m not ready for that. I’m ready for a fight. A knockdown, drag out where I hurt him as much as he hurt me.
“You’re right,” he continues, “I didn’t consult you. I just expected you’d be as excited as I was, and we’d adjust. Then when you left, I didn’t know how to take it. It killed me.”
“You never even called. Or texted. Or emailed.”
