Page 73 of Love.V2
“Yeah…” Tiago had a point, but I didn’t know what to do with it. I felt like I was sitting alone in the crater of my relationship’s implosion, and I wasn’t sure who’d pressed the red button.
“I don’t think it’s something that can be blamed on one person,” Lainey offered gently.
“Takes two to tango.” Jas nodded.
I felt heavy. “So, where does that leave me?”
“Do you still love him?” Lainey asked.
Jas held her hand up. “Rephrase, do you stillwanthim? You can love someone and still need space.”
I paused, even though I didn’t have to think about it. “Of course.” It was that simple, and that complicated.
“Of course?” I wasn’t sure who asked, still too caught up as the gears of my mind sluggishly turned.
“He’s the best person I’ve ever known. Smart and confident. He’s so kind. He believes in people; that’s what makes him so good at his job. He’s…”mine. Even after all this, he was still mine.
“That is a great place to start. You still want him. Now what?” Jas asked.
“Now, go back to his place, bang it out, and tell him you’re both going to stop being idiots.”
I snorted at Tiago’s suggestion while Jas frowned. “As hard as this might be for you to comprehend, not every relationship issue can be fixed with orgasms.”
“But have youtried?”
Despite everything, the day, and the emotional exhaustion, I grinned.
I really,reallyliked these people.
“Okay, well, let’s say that’s Plan B.” Jas glared, throwing a napkin in his direction, where it fluttered to the floor.
“You’re picking that up.” Tiago pointed at her. I bent to retrieve it.
“So, if that’s Plan B, what’s Plan A?” At Lainey’s question, all eyes turned to me.
Well, if that wasn’t the question of the hour. The question of the last few months, even.
Dylan had come here on the slimmest hope. He had put everything aside—his life, his career—to make this work, even though there was no guarantee I’d give him another chance. If he hadn’t showed up, where would I be?
Probably still miserable. Alone in a new city with hardly any friends or hobbies. Still quietly collapsing into myself, like a black hole that would eventually cease to exist.
I thought back to the first night Dylan and I met. The hopes I had, the incredible, massive crush. How he’d made everything seem possible. He’d turned my list into our list. He’d been on my side since day one, fighting to give me everything I wanted.
Maybe he lost sight of what, specifically, that looked like, but he really hadn’t ever stopped.
My heart squeezed.
“I need to see what he’s thinking. We need to talk about this. And not just skip over it and forget this ever happened and start fresh. I mean…I need to know if he still wants this, too.”
“And if he does?” Jas was smiling as she asked, like she already knew the answer, and just wanted me to say it out loud.
I gulped, glancing around. That crater wasn’t so lonely anymore. It was their faces that gave me the last push, that last hit of confidence I needed.
“Then I fight. Like hell.”
Chapter 21
Tess
