Glad to hear it.
For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.
Me too.
I was so damn sorry.Because it had been an amazing two weeks of my life. The shortest, and yet best, relationship I’d ever had.
And now I had to get used to coming home to an empty apartment. Not to the warmth of Tessa. Had to get used to cooking for one again. I fucking hated that.
“Why didn’t I ask her to go with her?” I asked my empty space.
I knew why. This was my home.
“She didn’t ask you either,” I told myself.
I groaned. Who was I, talking to myself and pretending it was normal? Pretending I wasn’t trying to figure out a way to book my own flight, to follow after her and beg her to give us a shot.
A real one this time.
One month later…
“What are you still doing here, man?” Matthew asked me from across the bar.
I blinked. “Huh?” We’d just ordered our beers. “What do you mean? We haven’t even gotten our drinks yet.”
He groaned. “I meant here, as in Portland. Here as in,notLos Angeles.”
“Why would I be in Los Angeles?”
“Because you love my sister.”
I didn’t deny it. But I hadn’t even told her, so I definitely wasn’t going to admit it to him for the first time.
“She doesn’t want me. Not like that.”
Matthew shook his head. “I don’t think that’s true. I saw how she looked at you the last two years. And I saw how you looked at her. I’m just amazed it took you two so long to do anything about it.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t want you to think I was going to disrespect your sister. It was a boundary I didn’t want to cross.” Until I did.
Until him giving me permission made me realize exactly what I was missing.
“So?”
“So, what?”
“Did you tell her how you felt?”
I shook my head. “She didn’t give me a chance.”
“Fuck, was I this much of an idiot with Noelle?” He muttered to himself. “You have to tell her how you feel.”
“But she’s in Los Angeles.”
Matthew raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“And I live here.”
“Still not seeing the problem here.”
