Page 65 of Don't Remind Me
She reached for me again. “Look?—”
“I’m seeing someone.” The words left my mouth like a gavel, striking hard and fast.
Gabby’s face fell. Her hands dropped to her sides. “Your mom said…” She folded her arms over her stomach, shoulders drawing forward. “Why didn’t you bring her?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets, a bit of steadiness returning with the thought of Dani. “It’s new,” I explained. “And despite what my mom thinks, she doesn’t get a say in my relationships.”
Gabby lowered her chin, eyes drifting to the small desk along the wall to her right. “But it’s serious?”
Yes.My instinct was to say it. To fucking scream it. Burn Dani’s name into my skin and bare it for the whole world to see.
But the truth was I didn’t know. The way I felt about Dani was new to me, and it was entirely possible she didn’t feel the same way.
Even if she did, she might not see a future for us. Not with her history with my brother and the unknown of my family. “Serious” implied marriage and houses and babies and all the things Gabby wanted from me that I didn’t have in me to give. Not when that was all she wanted me for. When she could take or leave the rest of me without it mattering to her bigger picture.
I’d never felt that from Dani. Like an object to be obtained.
“It’s real,” I replied.
“And I wasn’t, is that it?” Her eyes went glassy, and my shoulders sagged.
“Weweren’t, Gabs,” I said as gently as I could manage. “We were convenient. I wasn’t there for you the way you deserve, and you…”
Her red eyes held mine, waiting.
“Webothdeserve to be with people who make us feel good. More than just ‘not alone.’ Can you honestly say that’s what we were for each other?”
Her gaze swept the room before dropping to her feet. She dug one heel into the plush carpet. “I’ll go,” she finally said.
I nodded, not knowing what else to say.
She walked to the door, pausing as her hand touched the knob. “I hope it works out for you, Jase. But maybe ask yourself, how real can it be if you won’t even bring her home for your brother’s baby shower?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Just opened the door and was gone, leaving me to wade through the doubt she’d left in her wake like a lingering perfume.
I’d barely made it downstairs before my mom was in my face, demanding an explanation.
“What on earth did you say to Gabby to make her leave?”
I strode past her toward the kitchen. “Leave it alone, Mom. Please. You never should have invited her in the first place. In fact, I asked you not to.”
She scoffed. “So I’m the bad guy for not wanting you to be alone forever? To have a future? She was good for you, Jase. She has a stable career, is nice and attractive. What reason is there to not be with her?”
“A stable career?” I rounded the island, keeping it between us like it might protect me in some way. “And I don’t? You think I need someone to support me after I fail miserably as a chef like I do at everything else, is that it?”
Her mouth hung open for a beat as she crossed her arms.
So that’s a yes.
“How would you even know how my job is going?” I challenged. “When was the last time you asked me about the restaurant? It’s good, by the way. So you can stop trying to find someone to pay my rent.”
“I just want you to be happy.” She gestured out the window to the backyard. “Look at Alec. Look how happy he is with Stephanie.”
I clenched my jaw, refusing to blow up within earshot of the party. “He is happy. And this party is for him, so how about we get back to it and forget this?”
“But if you go after Gabby right now, you might?—”
“Mom, drop it, okay? I don’t love Gabby. I don’t want to be with her. I was miserable with her. You don’t get to decide I wasn’t just because it’s what you’d prefer.”
