Page 25 of The One You Chose

“Wait, so the veterinarian you’ve been flirting with and Fitz from the bar are the same guy?” Zoya asked as she scratched behind Pi’s ear. The dog wasted no time in making himself at home on the couch. After bringing him home, we both waited for Zoya’s allergies to kick in but so far there was no sign of even a sniffle. After a week, Zoya asked her doctor if she grew out of her allergy to animals to find that she was never actually allergic and it was a story her parents told her growing up because they didn’t want animals in their home. Zoya stopped talking to her mother for six days, a record in the Porter family.

“He’s not a veterinarian; he’s the adoption and foster coordinator. His job is to make sure that the animals are placed in the right homes.”

Zoya flapped her hand as if swatting a fly. “Whatever. The point is, they’re the same guy?”

I nodded. “There’s no point in reading it.”

“He might have a good reason or even a dumb reason.”

“It’s a huge red flag. There’s never a good reason to lie.” That first night, I told him. I couldn’t do liars. He knew and he still lied to me.

Rolling her eyes, Zoya sat up. “You are being ridiculous. Yes, the circumstances are ridiculous. But when was he supposed to tell you? Through email? You’re acting like it was some great deception to get into your pants.”

“It was! I slept with him, again, before I found out the truth.”

“So he maliciously tried to hide the truth from you?”

“Well, not maliciously.” I edged.

“And he didn’t try to tell you the truth at any point?”

I thought back to the alleyway. My hands on his hair and the way he pulled away; pleading that he had something to tell me. He could have told me then, but if he was feeling the same lust-driven heat that I was, his mind wasn’t on conversation. “There might have been a moment...”

Her voice softened, Zoya reached out and took my hand. “I know how you feel about lying. But something like this, it’s not all black and white. There is no hard and fast rule when you’re falling for someone.”

I wanted to argue with her, but what could I say? Never before had I felt this way over a man. I wanted to curse him; I wanted to lie beside him and never get up. To never see his face again and to trace the contours of his cheek with my fingers. Simply put, I was out of my depth.

Zoya snapped her fingers. “Give me your phone.”

“I deleted the email.” Which was half true. It was still sitting in my trash folder but not permanently deleted. I couldn’t bring myself to do that yet. Zoya would know this too. Zoya scoffed and snapped her finger impatiently. Handing my phone to Zoya, I covered my eyes.

Zoya read the email aloud as I buried my face in our “There’s some Ho-Ho-Ho’s in this house” pillow.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Please

Lina,

I have no right to ask this. But I can’t help but ask for one more chance. I never meant to deceive you. Everything I said at the restaurant, I meant. I can’t stop thinking of you. The night we met, the first time I saw you, it was as if everything around you vanished for me. You are kind, and smart, and beautiful. Never in my life did I think I would find a connection with another person the way I did with you. I never wanted to hurt you, and if you’ll give us a chance, I’d like to make it up to you. Please.

I won’t send you anymore emails. On New Year’s Eve, I’m going to be at your tree downtown at nine. I’ll wait all night if I have to. If you want to start over, I’ll be waiting for you.

~Fitz

Jeremiah F. Deir

Adoption Coordination Director

Port Madison County Humane Society

Zoya tossed the phone back down beside me. “Doesn’t sound like a guy who was trying to deceive you, he just sounds bad at communicating, which isn’t great. But it’s also not bad enough to never see him again if you really care about him. If this guy just wanted a hookup, he could have chosen a ton of other girls, didn’t Cooper say his cousin Nova was trying to get with him?”

Turning my head to the side I frowned at her. “What’s your point.”

“He’s putting in some work for you. If you were just some piece of ass for him, would he really be saying all this?”

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