“He cheated on you because he’s a cheater,” I assert. She lifts her head to look at me. “There is nothing you could’ve done to stop him. I’ve known men like him, and they step out at the first opportunity. They don’t want monogamy; they want a place to rest their dick when no one else is available.”
“You’ve said that before,” she whispers. “The night we met, you told me you’d seen men like him and that you knew he would cheat on me. How did you know?”
I scrub a hand down my face and let out a breath. “My dad.”
“Your dad?”
“You already know that I don’t have a close relationship with my dad, and a lot of that is because I’m absolutely nothing like him. When I was nine, my mom found out he was cheating on her. They divorced when I was ten, and he brought me to the US with him. Since then, he’s been married four more times, each ending in divorce after he cheated. Bastard is honestly lucky he still has a military career after all that. I knew what Matt would do because I’d seen my own damn dad do it time and time again.”
“That’s why you cared so much.” Her voice is so soft as she lets all the pieces fall into place.
“Yeah. I went about it all wrong, but that’s why I was so adamant that night. I’m tired of cheaters thinking they’re free to do whatever they want, not caring who they hurt in the process. I had Matt pegged from the moment he sat down at our table.”
“Is that why you always say you aren’t going to settle down?” Lucia asks gently.
“I don’t want to turn out like my dad,” I admit. “I refuse to let myself become what he is.”
Lucia rests her palm against my cheek. “I know we spent a lot of time disliking each other, but the couple of months I’ve been getting to know you have shown me a lot. You’renothinglike your dad, Ari.”
“I want to believe that, but I can’t take the risk of hurting someone just to prove it.”
“Maybe you’ll believe it one day, then.”
As hard as it is to believe what she’s saying, Lucia’s words pull at my heart, and the organ that I once considered to be frozen seems to feel a little bit lighter.
When she moved in, I never imagined that Lucia would become someone I actually wanted to spend time with.
But she’s actually really fucking incredible, and she’s quickly become one of my favorite people.
Things feel a little bit brighter whenever I’m with her.
I don’t know if it’s weird that none of my other friends have made me feel that way, but I like that she does.
And I really like having her around.
thirty-five
Ari
“Happybirthday,Ari,”Luciasays sweetly as she lets me into her room.
I flop onto her bed, hands over my eyes. “I don’t know how I feel about being thirty.”
She laughs as she comes to sit next to me. “I’ve been doing it for almost two years. It’s not that bad.”
“I always forget that you’re old,” I smirk.
Her jaw falls open in response. “I’m not even two years older than you, Morgan!”
“But still older than me.”
“Sounds to me like the birthday boy doesn’t want to get lucky tonight.”
Lucia squeals as I grab her wrist and pull her over on top of me.
She’s not dressed for the night yet, but my breath still catches in my throat.
The way her deep, brown eyes sparkle when the light catches them.