I almost laughed. “Uh-huh, you keep telling yourself that.”
“Oh, let me guess.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “You’re not a relationship guy. Shocker.”
I usually didn’t take offense at a comment like that, but for some reason, coming from her, it stung a little. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Like I told you earlier, I’ve heard about your habits, and guys like you think playing the field is a superior way to live than spending time with one woman.”
“You mean being tied down to one woman,” I corrected her.
She looked at me in both shock and anger. “Tied down?”
“Look, I don’t make a secret of the fact that I have no interest in ever being in a relationship, so yes, being tied down.”
“But…but there’s so much joy and happiness that can come from being in love.” And when she said it, I could tell she really believed it. But she wasn’t about to change my mind on the matter.
“More like pain and misery,” I said. “And as for being in love? Yeah, no thanks.”
Her eyes wandered over my face like she was looking for something. “Did you get burned by a girl or something?”
“Nope,” I answered simply.
She looked at me doubtfully. “That sounded convincing.”
“It’s the truth. I’ve never been in a relationship, let alone in love.” Just the idea of being in love had me wanting to crawl out of my skin.
“Well, you’re missing out,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Missing out on my girlfriend not being there for me when I need her?” My voice came out harsher than I had intended.
Her face blanched, and I realized I had taken it too far. It just always got me riled up when people insisted that they knew more than me on this topic. That I had no idea what I was talking about. I knew exactly what love could do to a person. My parents had been in love, and they were all the proof I needed.
I ran a hand through my damp hair and down my neck. “I’m sorry, that was rude. I didn’t mean to invite you in here to ridicule your relationship with your boyfriend. You’re not the first person to give me the relationships-are-amazing speech, and for me, it’s a tired conversation. Again, I apologize.”
She swallowed and seemed to have recovered from my unkind comment. “I’m sorry I got pushy about relationships. What do I care if you want to be single forever?”
I looked up at the ceiling. “Yet, people seem to really care,” I said, more to myself than to her.
“Do your friends push this topic on you a lot?” she asked timidly.
I blew out a puff of air. “You have no idea.”
A soft smile appeared on her lips. “They probably just want you to be happy like they are.”
I dropped my head back down to look at her. “Who says I’m not happy?”
“I wasn’t saying you aren’t,” she argued. “I think they just care about you.”
My shoulders dropped. “Yeah, I know, but you would think me being single this long and still being adamant about staying single would have them giving up.” I put my hands behind my head and leaned back on the couch. “But maybe I can’t blame them. My two best friends are in blissfully happy relationships, and their girlfriends are amazing women.”
“So you feel like the fifth wheel?” she asked, like she was genuinely trying to understand me.
“Sometimes. But I’m never alone for too long.”
“Right,” she nodded. “Can’t forget about all the women who throw themselves at you.” She quoted my words from earlier, which had me smiling.
Lowering my hands back down to my lap, it was time to get this conversation off me and back onto her. I didn’t need her trying to dig into the reasoning behind my choices. “You said you and your boyfriend have been together for four years, so you’ve been with him since high school?”
“Yep,” she said. “Our best friends started dating our sophomore year, and they thought we’d be perfect for each other, so the more we hung out with them, the more it seemed like our friends were right. Took us a little while to get together, but by the start of our junior year, Josh and I were inseparable.”
