Page 58 of Will Bark for Pizza
“No,” I said.
I had to unfriend all the boys I went to high school with on social media. Travis was convinced they’d reach out and hit on me—none of them ever did—and I did it to prove I only wanted him.
I did a lot of stupid things to prove my loyalty.
“He was balding so badly he started shaving his head. He’s also got a nice beer gut.”
“And to think you two ended up mud wrestling over him,” Aspen said, laughing.
“You could have picked somewhere dry to hold your intervention,” I said to Aspen.
I anchored my paddle to my ankle with the tether, still amazed that Beckett found it. It made it even harder to be mad at him, and right now, Ineededto be mad at him. Anything else was far too complicated.
We paddled out to the middle of the lake. I didn’t dare do anything reckless like stand on the board like my friends. Tango simply sat on the edge of the board and watched, making it easy for Aspen to navigate without risk of crashing into the water.
My crazy dog, however, was pacing. Probably my faultfor giving him a pup cup early this morning—my pathetic attempt to remain number one when I knew damn well I was far down on the list.
He loved it here.
Would it be so crazy to . . .move home?
“How long?” Alyssa asked me when we stopped paddling and simply floated in the middle where the best view of the largest, snowcapped mountains was.
“How long am I home?”
“How long ago did you dump the sorry excuse for a boyfriend you had?”
“The night of Aspen’s wedding.”
Aspen looked at me, her expression revealing shock.
“I’ve been no contact with him since I picked up my stuff from his place the next day.”
“That’s why you left without telling anyone?” Alyssa guessed.
“Travis supposedly planned a romantic weekend away the same weekend as your wedding,” I said to Aspen, since Alyssa already knew this part.
“What?” Aspen asked, her question a mere whisper.
“You still haven’t told her?” Alyssa asked.
I ignored the prodding I deserved and went on.
“He claimed I never told him your wedding date, even though the save the date was on his fridge for months.”
I took a deep breath, reminding myself that this was all in the past. Travis was in the past. These were just things that happened to me. Things I couldn’t change. Things that no longer deserved my energy or emotions. But my closest friends deserved an explanation.
“In case it’s not obvious, he’s a narcissistic asshole. Hecontrolled every aspect of my life for three years, but I was too stupid to see it for a long time.”
“You weren’t stupid,” Alyssa said, giving me a break I didn’t expect. “You’re a decent human being who never expected someone you trusted and cared about to be so fucking deceitful and manipulative. Give yourself some grace.”
I sent her an appreciative smile as Husker finally settled on the board, pointed toward the mint green house across the lake in his Sphinx-like position. The same house with the garden and kayaks. I wondered if Luke was called out to the lake that night I fell in. If Beckett met him and told him some crazy redhead fell into the water and needed rescuing.
Did he know who I was then?
Impossible.
Or was it?
