Her foot knocked his. “That man. Tristan, you can talk to me. I’m not going to judge you.” She gave Nadine the spoon, and the little girl dug into the small cup with a determined expression. “All I want is for you to be happy.”
Happy. What the hell did that even mean? He thought he’d been happy playing with Sean on the basketball court until things got too intense.
“I’m fine. Being with you today helps.”
“I’m glad, but you need something more in your life. You can’t remain stuck in the past forever.” Her long, elegant fingers rested on his hand. “Terry’s never coming back, no matter how much we love him and want it to happen. It’s time to move on.”
He swallowed hard. “Are you ready to?” He couldn’t expect someone so young to remain single forever, but God, he hadn’t considered the possibility that Monique would start dating.
Eyes bright with tears, she sniffled. “I’m not ready. I may never be. But if I want to see Terry, all I have to do is look at Nadine. I’m talking about you. I want you to find someone who brings you joy and the love you deserve. I know I used to throw all my girlfriends at you. I’m sorry.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “But all I want is to see you smile. Promise me you’ll stop pushing people away. Give yourself a chance.”
Again, his thoughts turned to Sean and how he’d done exactly that. But it wasn’t a push. It was a shove, and now Sean wanted nothing to do with him.
“Is there someone you’re interested in?” Monique gripped his hand. “Tristan?”
“What? No, of course not. There’s no one.” His attempt to brush her off with a laugh failed miserably.
“How’s that guy you’re living with? What did you say his name was?” She busied herself with wiping Nadine’s face clean of the ice cream smeared over it, but he didn’t miss the side-long glance from under those long lashes.
“I’m not sure I did, but his name is Sean. And he’s fine.”
“I’ll bet he is,” she murmured, but he caught it and snorted.
“Give it up, Monique.”
She frowned and tossed the cup and napkins into the trash. “For now. And only because I have to take Nadine home and give her a bath and get ready for dinner. But we’re not finished.”
“I’m sure,” he muttered, and she snickered and elbowed him.
“Come on. You want a ride home?
“Nah, It’s nice out and I need the exercise.”
“Okay. Then walk me to the car.”
They gathered up their things, and after a visit to the restroom, he accompanied her to her car parked on Fifth and 68th. He dumped the bag in the trunk while she put Nadine in her car seat. The little girl gave him a sticky kiss.
“Don’t forget her birthday party. I’ll expect you there. I’ll text you the details.”
“I promise.”
She slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, but before driving away, let the window down and smiled sweetly up at him. “And if you want to bring someone, that’s fine too.” She blew him a kiss and drove off.
Deciding to take advantage of the perfect weather, he walked home and picked up food for dinner. Because of how things had ended between them, he stopped at one of the burger places he knew Sean liked from all the wrappers he’d spied in the garbage and ordered him something as well, throwing in an extra order of fries because dammit, it had been one of those fucking days where nothing else but french fries could make him feel better.
He arrived at the apartment to find it still empty and quiet. They hadn’t exchanged phone numbers, so it wasn’t like he could call Sean to ask when he’d be coming home. Not that he would, because that sounded vaguely creepy, like he was keeping tabs on him. But it was only natural to worry and wonder where he was, especially after he’d taken a hit to the face.
He ate his quinoa bowl slowly, but night fell, plunging the apartment into darkness, and he flicked on the lights, his agitation shifting to annoyance. It was common courtesy for Sean to let him know where he was. From the beginning, by unspoken agreement, they’d taken to eating their meals together, so it was weirdly lonely to be sitting by himself.
His appetite gone, Tristan tossed the rest of his food into the garbage and busied himself with paperwork he had to read and online assessment tests he had to take before starting work. He’d been putting it off because he hated it, but with the television on for background noise, he powered through all but one test. Eyes burning, he rubbed them and stretched, noticing it was near eleven.
Still no sign of Sean.
“Asshole,” he cursed, but he wasn’t sure if he meant Sean for staying out so long, or himself for caring. He shut off the television, brushed his teeth, and went to bed.
He awoke in the middle of the night to his usual nightmares of the shooting and Terry falling at his feet. But there was something else too—the glow of light from the living room, along with quiet moaning and creaking from the lousy springs on the sofa bed.
Son of a bitch.He’d brought someone home with him. A stranger. His gut tightened, and he got out of bed. What a complete asshole to have been concerned. He needed a drink of water, and fuck it all if he’d be ashamed to catch Sean and his hookup in the act. He pushed the door half open and froze at the sight before him.
