“Please, I’ll walk you back to your place.”
“Then you can rush off to Mrs. G?”
“It’s not what you think.” He ushered his arm to the left, the opposite direction of the football house.
“I live there.” I nodded east. “With the football guys.”
He frowned. “Interesting.”
“Walk fast.”
“That, I can do.”
We matched pace, the wind whipping our faces and I led us into the front room. No one was home, thankfully, not that it mattered. I didn’t owe anyone a thing. I plopped down on the sofa, crossing my arms and legs. “Okay, so what’s up?”
“My dad cheated on my mom. On… all of us. He had another family.”
“Whoa.” My stomach sank.
“Yeah.” Eric gripped the back of his neck. “I found out this summer, and it’s been really fucking hard. My mom had no idea, and well, I pushed everyone away. Was an asshole. I needed to pretend it didn’t happen, and it’s no excuse for doing what I did, but I hope you know that I did love you. I miss you. You were… are… an amazing friend. You would’ve been there for me, and I’m sorry for hurting you.”
Blinking away emotion, I ran my hands through my hair, unsure what to say. He’d dropped a lot on me. “Are you okay? Is your mom?”
“I’m seeing a therapist.” He gave me a sheepish smile. “It’s been helping, honestly. I’m so angry, and I need to figure it out. My mom is not—she’s getting through it.” He exhaled, his brows twisting together. “Mrs. Gravestone’s someone my mom knew. She heard about what happened and wanted to check in on me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” He smiled again, adjusting his sweatshirt for a beat before meeting my eyes again. “She told me I’m out of the running for the internship now. She’d rather mentor or check in with me this way, and I’m alright with it. I know how much you want the spot at her company, and I hope you get it. I’ve told her how hard you work.”
“Eric.” I stood, needing to do something, and I opened my arms. The front door opened, and heavy footsteps followed, but Eric pushed up and wrapped his arms around me. He smelled like outside and leather, but instead of the rush I used to get, I had closure. Like ending a book. “I’m sorry your family is going through this. Thank you for telling me.”
He squeezed me, running his hands up and down my back. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
We broke apart, and he cupped my chin. “I don’t deserve a second chance, but—”
“Friends, Eric. We can be friends.” I smiled, shoving his hand away. “Nothing more.”
“Great.” He sighed, rocked back on his heels and eyed the room. “Can’t believe you live here.”
“Won’t be for much longer.” I’d found a solid two bedroom place a few blocks from here last week, and Mack and I were gonna check it out soon.
He walked toward the door, staring at me hard. “Thank you. For listening, for not hating me.”
“Eh, I did for a little bit.”
He laughed and walked out. “I’ll see you around, Lo.”
I shut the door, exhaling in relief once he left. While I hated what he and his mom went through, it explained why he became a different person. It gave me that closure. And he wasn’t in the running for the internship? Even better.
“I take it by the smile on your face that you’re happy you talked to Derrick?” Luca asked, leaning against the doorway into the kitchen.
He wore a navy thermal and jeans along with a ski cap, and damn, he was handsome.
My stomach swooped in a very different way, and my skin tingled. We hadn’t seen each other for more than a few minutes since our chat. It was better to put distance. He raised his brows, like he expected me to talk.
“I’m not happy, no, but I got the closure I needed.”
“So that was a goodbye hug?”
