Page 69 of Hot and Bothered
“You don’t talk about yourself at all,” I said. “You always want to know more about me and my life, but whenever I try to turn the conversation over to you, somehow you always find a way to bring it back around to me.”
Evan’s brow furrowed.
“I’m not upset about it,” I said. “I just want to know more about you too. But I do worry that there might be a reason why you don’t like talking about yourself.”
“I guess you’re right that I don’t talk about myself much,” he finally said. “I’d rather listen to someone else talk than talk about myself. I find other people fascinating. I like hearing your stories.” He gave me a small smile. “I already know all about myself, after all.”
“But I want to know more about you,” I told him.
Evan looked a little perturbed, a little uncomfortable, and I instantly suspected there really was a reason he was so reticent.
But he simply nodded.
“I’ll try to talk about myself more,” he said.
I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled down into his chest. He buried his face in my hair and ran a hand up and down my back. I luxuriated in his touch. We’d only been apart for a day, but it felt as if it had taken a hundred years for us to reconcile. One night spent in Evan’s arms wasn’t enough to make up for that absence.
Buzz.
I looked over on the counter. My phone was buzzing. Someone was sending me messages.
My nerves flared up. I pressed my face back into Evan’s chest. He cupped the back of my head.
“It’s probably your family,” he said quietly.
“I know,” I said.
“You don’t have to respond to them,” he said.
“I know that, too.”
With a heavy sigh, I left the circle of Evan’s arms and went to my borrowed phone, looking at the screen. I tried not to grimace. It was my parents.
I steeled myself, then read the messages.
I blinked. I re-read them. The words stayed the same.
“My parents want to see me,” I said. “They want to have dinner and talk.”
“Talk, or yell at you until you give in?” he said.
I gripped the phone tight.
“They sound sincere,” I said. “I don’t know. Maybe I should hear them out.”
I knew I sounded unconvinced, even to my own ears.
But maybe it was a good thing for me to talk to them. To get some kind of closure. I’d never actually spoken to my mother and father since the day of the wedding. They had no idea how well I was doing. They had no idea how I was thriving.
If nothing else, I could show them I was managing just fine without them.
“You sure?” Evan asked.
I pressed my lips together and nodded.
“Yes. I need to see this through.”
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