“But you don’t understand,” I whisper.
And there it is.
The thing I’ve been trying not to think about.
The thing that made me swear I’d never date an athlete again.
“Honey, if you wanna talk, go on.We’re all friends here and we want to help,” Caro says quietly.
I stare down at my hands.
“I’ve done this before.See, my ex was a professional athlete.”
The room goes quiet.
“He was charming,” I continue.“Popular.Everyone loved him.And, well, helovedjust about everyone back.”
“Uh-oh,” Carolina murmurs.
“Yeah.Exactly.”
I swallow.
“He cheated constantly.”
Finley’s face darkens.
“Like he had an affair or two?”Dani asks carefully.
“No.”
My laugh is bitter.
“He cheated likeconstantly.Like it was a hobby.Even after he proposed.”
Annabeth mutters something in Spanish that sounds extremely violent.
“And the worst part?”I say softly.
“There’s something worse?”Finley asks.
“Yeah, because he made it out to be my fault.Said I was too busy to pay him enough attention because I took my job seriously.And it was like he punished me for it by sleeping with readily available women.And that just made me feel awful, invisible.Like I didn’t matter.”
That confession sits heavy in the room.
“For two years I convinced myself I was imagining it,” I continue.“That I was being insecure.That if I was just prettier, or sexier, or thinner, maybe he wouldn’t have strayed.”
My voice trails off.
Dani reaches over and squeezes my hand.
“But Noah isn’t him,” she says gently.
“I know that logically.”
“But?”
“But logic doesn’t stop my brain from thinking this is all temporary.”
