Page 62 of The Right Garza
Her pace picks up with each word. “Anyway, when Torin came into the picture and you two got together, neither of us was happy about it. One night he invited me over and he was so angry about everything that he wouldn’t shut up about it. I guess, I dunno, I guess I was tired of his tirade and wanted him to shut up, so I kissed him.
“And that’s when you and True walked in. You all just assumed we were dating after that and we never bothered to correct you. We went along with it. All that to say: Trent and I werenevera thing.And we’ve never had sex. Of any kind. Ever.”
A rush of breath explodes from her at the end of her word vomit. “Phew. Feels good to finally get that out.”
Food forgotten, I just stare at her. “Trent had a crush on me?”
“Yup.Huge. Boy had it bad.”
“This whole time…” I murmur low, more to myself than her. “And I dated his brother. Right in his face. All that time. Jesus. How does he not resent me?”
“Considering you had no idea how he felt, I think it would be childish of him if he did,” she points out. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s nothing even remotely ‘childish’ about that man. He’s pure alpha. A man in every sense of the word.”
“Girls used to throw themselves and at him and True,” I remind her.
“And he didn’t give them the time of day. He knew what he wanted.” She forks pasta into her mouth and talks while she chews. “And from where I’m standing, he still does. Don’t think I didn’t notice how he was with you last Saturday. I mean, damn. Boy. Held.On.”
I roll my eyes at her. “What do I even do with this information, Maggie?”
“He said he told you to ask me but he knew you wouldn’t. So he called to check.” She cocks a brow at me. “Whydidn’tyou ask me?”
With a miserable sigh, I gaze down at my food. “Probably because I was afraid it would be something like this. Something that would push me toward him instead of away from him.”
“Whywouldyou want to be pushed away?”
“Because he’sTrent,” I say with dramatic emphasis. “It’s weird enough that I can’t stop thinking about doing the nasty with him. But, I mean…it’s Trent, Maggie.Trent.”
“Yeah,” she drags with a hint of sarcasm. “And Trent is more than ‘just Trent’. He’s a human being with feelings and emotions. A lot of which appears to be channeled toward you and only you. Instead of sexually objectifying him or looking him over as ‘just Trent’, why don’t you try to get in there andsee him. Stop blocking him out and grasping for bullshit reasons, because if he’s still the same person I knew back then and his feelings are still the same, then I guarantee you there’s no other man out there who will worship you like that man will. Trust me.”
I feel overwhelmed. Brimmed and confused. I’m both famished and repleted at the same time. I don’t know what to do, say, or feel, so I set my food aside and walk out of the house without a word.
I march right back to the guesthouse where it’s buzzing with noise and activity, and I throw myself into work.
No thinking. No feeling. Just working.
I’ve always been better at ignoring the inevitable anyway.
~
It’s not untilthe text message comes through that I realize I’ve been waiting for it all day.
Trent:Pick you up in two hours.
An involuntary smile tugs at my lips as I read it, and the fluttering sigh that flows from me is pathetic. Hehadtold me last week that he would come for me this weekend, though I hadn’t known at the time just what that meant.
When Friday coasted in on the rising sun yesterday, I both anticipated and dreaded hearing from him. Then when I didn’t, I was both relieved and disappointed all at once.
“Is that Trent?” Maggie asks from the kitchen. She’s stirring powdered iced tea in a glass.
I bite my lip and nod. “How do you know?”
She points the spoon at me in a circular motion, droplets of liquid plopping on the counter. “That goofy ass smile you got when you picked up the phone. Deny it all you want, but you’resointo him.”
“Mind your own business, bitch,” I tell her and she laughs.
Me:Where are we going?
Trent:Out
