Page 112 of Huckleberry Hill
“Oh yeah.”
“You think he went home with the blonde?”
“Yes. That was the plan all along. You don’t deviate from the plan.”
“Sometimes you gotta pivot. Pivoting needs to happen sometimes.”
“Hm. Why do I feel like you’re talking about me?” I asked.
He fell silent for a moment, but I knew it was because he was gathering his words. “Did your ex tell his family why you guys broke up?”
I thought about how Nico treated me. He was sympathetic and kind. But there had been no pity in his tone.
“I think Gianni kept it vague. Not wanting to air his dirty laundry.”
“Kept it vague? In an Italian family? That’s hard to do.”
“Hmm. Yeah.”
“Speaking of keeping it vague, you’re still vague with me about why you guys broke up.”
“Sometimes relationships just run their natural course,” I dodged. “Okay, your turn in the hot seat.”
“What hot seat is that?”
“You know about both of my past relationships. I want to know about yours.”
“Wait, you’ve only had two relationships?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“Wow what? Is that weird?”
“Wow, that’s—how?”
“Well, Wade and I dated through high school, and we broke up when I moved with Salem to New York. And then I was single for a few years. I went on a couple of dates, but I wasn’t really interested in anything serious, and then I met Gianni. And we were together for two years.” I unlinked our hands and rolled over in his embrace. I poked his bare chest. “Now you.”
“I’ve had my share of girlfriends, but nothing serious.”
“Nothing serious?”
“Life on the circuit is time consuming and the schedule doesn’t allow you to form lasting bonds.”
“Ah, so you hooked up with a bunch of women.”
“Yeah . . .”
“Okay, riddle me this,” I said. “You said you left the circuit because of potential injuries. Is that the only reason?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re a man of a certain age,” I drawled. “Were you thinking about something more out of life? Your mortality, perhaps? Your legacy?”
“Ah, you speak of progeny.” Declan laughed. “I don’t know if I thought about it in that way, but yeah. I was getting tired of the circuit. I wanted something different. Some stability.”
The words I wanted to ask were clogged in my throat. If I asked them—if he wanted a wife and kids—I had to be ready for whatever he said. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
