I open the door and the spark fails to thrive. I come face-to-face with Cole. And he’s carrying another bouquet of fuck-ass roses.
He stops my attempt to slam the door with his foot. “Moyo, please hear me out.”
“Leave.” I push the door harder, crushing his foot. He winces. Unlike the Cole I knew, this man has facial hair now. A bushy mix of dark and light strands. His eyes look even more sunken than before. If I didn’t recognize his voice, and his propensity for roses, I might’ve wondered who it was.
“I made a mistake. It’s taken me months to admit it, but I fucked up. You were kind, sweet. You took care of me, and I took you for granted,” Cole pleads, his voice wavering on each word. The same tone he used to have when he’d be apologetic about a last-minute cancellation.
I’m not sold. In fact, the spark is back and it’s burning quick and hot in anger. I should stop his meaningless ramblings, but I’m curious about how he intends to spin this in his favor, so I let him continue.
“I broke up with Clarisse,” he says, and I raise a brow. “My life has been colorless without you. I should have told her the truth that night. I should’ve stood by you, but I was scared. I made a mistake. But I’m not scared anymore. I know what I need in life, and that’s you, Moyo. Please, what can I do to show you I’ve changed? I promise, if you give me this chance, I’ll never take you for granted again.”
His blue eyes shine with hope. He gives me a crooked smile and pushes the roses closer to me.
“Cole,” I say, and his name no longer sounds like a prayer. It’s a curse, and he notices. His brows scrunch and he frowns.
“First, I hate roses.”
“But—”
“Second, she left you, didn’t she?”
He looks away, confirming my suspicions. “I’m here now, Moyo. I’m here for you.”
“Leave.” Done with the conversation, I push the door, and he stops it again. This time with his hand. It takes everything in me not to slam the door and break his fingers.
“Moyo, we’re made for each other. I’m single, you’re single. LikeCupid’s Bowsaid, we’re soulmates.”
I can’t help but laugh in his face. “Maybe if this was hell. You’re single because you’re a cheating dick.” My anger is on full display now. He has so much fucking nerve coming here and spouting this shit. “You’re not my soulmate, and even if you were, I’d rather die than be with you. Leave. I swear to God, if I have to tell you one more time…”
“You have a boy—?”
“As if that matters,” I sneer.
Cole’s eyes brighten, a smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “See Moyo, we’re meant for each other. You say you’d rather die, but I know that’s not true. You’re a romantic. You love the company. The comfort. The sex,” he smirks, and I wrinkle my nose. “We were good together…easy. I know you, Moyo.”
He’s right. I did love the comfort, the company, the sex. And our relationshipwaseasy, but that’s because there was nothing there. It was more akin to an empty dollhouse on display. Looks like the real deal but is truly made of cardboard.
Cole beams in anticipation. His chest is puffed out and shoulders rolled back. The little bitch still thinks he’s got it. He still believes I’m the woman he knew, who cared more about the label of love than the action.
“Cole…” He leans in, his smile taking root. “You must be out of your goddamn mind.” His smile slacks. “Like I said, I would rather be single for the rest of my life—a hundred cats and all—than be with you.”
“You don’t mean—”
“Oh, I do. You think I’m still like you, searching for someone to give life meaning because being alone is too suffocating. Your inability to face your pathetic self has brought you to my doorstep, and I know you’ve spent the last few months praying that I remained the same. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I know what a real partnership looks like now.”
Cole takes a step back, blinking rapidly, like a computer going into overdrive, before settling on one emotion.
He clears his throat in a last-ditch effort to change my mind. “You’ll regret this,” he says with an air of superiority.
“Like you regret your existence? Hmm, I’ll pass.” I shrug. “Now get the fuck out my neighborhood.”
“Moyo—”
“Say my name one more time and I promise you’ll regret it.”
The useless guy holds my impenetrable gaze, once again searching for an in. But seconds pass with the only change being the increased tension in my jaw.
Cole looks away, stumbling backwards towards his parked car.
