The lead to that is so abrupt, it almost gives me whiplash.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Kyle chimes in.
“Meaning to tell me?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “How about leading with that?”
Zara jumps in. “It’s my fault. I asked Kyle not to tell you, just in case.”
“Just in case what?” I sputter.
She clears her throat again, then takes her time pushing her glasses up her nose. It all seems to take a ridiculous amount of time.
“Just in case it turned out not being a positive experience.”
I have no idea what to make of that. “How did you get her number?”
She looks away in embarrassment, then glances toward Kyle, almost as if she’s begging him to save her.
“I looked through your phone and got her number.” He says it like it’s no big deal. “You had to go to the bathroom.”
I stare at him with wide eyes. “And you know my passcode?”
“Like it was hard to crack.” He rolls his eyes toward Zara, making her laugh. “He always thinks he’s so smart,” he tells her. “But he forgets that his friends are not stupid either.”
Zara’s tender gaze on him makes me miss Mona more than ever. I never cared whether she ever looked at me like this or not. And now, I hate that I don’t know.
Truth is, I took her for granted in all the ways. Now, everything is blowing up in my face, and I don’t know if there’s a way to fix it.
“I tried calling her, too.” I almost miss Zara when she speaks in her always soft tone.
I feel a bit lightheaded as I wait for her to continue.
“She wasn’t really interested in talking to me.”
I hate the pity I see on Zara’s face.
“Why did you even try?” I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders self-consciously. “I wanted to apologize to her. I’m apologizing to you, too.”
I watch her carefully, noticing how nervous but strong she seems. “You have nothing to apologize for, Zara. You did nothing wrong.”
She worries her hands. “I misread the situation. I thought she knew about theHolidatesprofile…”
I wave her off. “She was probably going to find out at some point anyway. You just sped up the process.”
I wish I had a bit more time with Mona before she found out the truth, but in all honesty, I’d completely forgotten about all that. She’d stopped responding to my messages on the app anyway, so, in my mind, we were both done with it. It looked like we were on track to get back together.
“She told me the same thing.” Zara chuckles. “She also thanked me, she said that I saved her from falling for your shit again.”
She blushes to the roots of her hair when she says it, but her eyes never waver from mine.
I let out a long sigh. “Can we be even now?”
Zara’s eyes widen in surprise. “Even? What are you talking about?”
I once again bring my hands to rest on the back of my head as I lean against the couch.
“I was an asshole to you when we first met. I tried everything in my power to break you and Kyle up.”
