The semi I was still sporting suddenly turns into a full-blown erection. I shift slightly on the ground, dropping my head down and groaning. I haven’t had sex in the last week, not that the opportunity hasn’t presented itself, but having Veronica around so much has been fucking with my head. I can’t seem to think of anyone else but her.
“What’s the matter, Casanova? Can’t deal with being next to a naked woman?”
When I look up, I find her looking at me with a smirk, and a bit more color has returned to her face. “Glad to see you’re feeling a bit better, Kitten. At least enough to give me some of that sass.”
She smiles. “I am, this is really helping. I’m not sure what Gabe put in here, butwhatever it is, I need to add it to my shopping list.”
“We’ll buy you a case full. Now, for my question.” I raise a brow, knowing she’s trying to deflect.
“Ugh.” She sinks lower in the water until it hits her jaw. “I was hoping you forgot about that.”
“Not likely.”
“It’s just… my ex. He apparently has a hard time letting go.” She peers at me.
“The guy at your place this morning?” I wonder.
“Who?” She seems confused. “Oh, Nathan? No. He’s just a friend.”
I nod.Didn’t look like just a friend.“How long has it been? Your ex.”
“A little over three years,” she says quietly.
My face turns into a frown. “Three years?! Veronica, that’s called an obsession, not‘having a hard time letting go’.”
“It’s fine. You have nothing to worry about.” She looks down at the bubbly water and pops some with her nail. “It just started up again, a little before May. He’s just… he thinks I owe him something. We ended really badly, and he’s blaming me for it.”
I know there’s more to the story; I can see it in the way she searches for her words and won’t meet my eyes. But I decide to leave it at that for now; she’s already admitted more than I expected.
“You’re the first person I’ve told, aside from my therapist.” Now she looks at me, and I know she’s telling the truth. For her to need a therapist after a breakup means it was a lot worse than she’s letting on.
“I feel like a bad friend sometimes. The girls always share all their secrets with me, and yet I don’t want them knowing about my past.”
I bring my hand over to the top of her knee popping out of the water. “That doesn’t make you a bad friend, Kitten. You’re allowed to have secrets you don’t want to share.” She nods with a tight smile.
A need to share one of my own takes over. It’s only fair since she’s shared hers. “I have a sister.”
She lifts slightly from the water, returning to her original position, as her gaze stays locked on mine. She doesn’t respond immediately and simply looks over my features until finally she says, “I know.”
My brows furrow. “How?” I’ve never told anyone. No one from my current life knows about her existence, and I’ve made sure my old life and my new one never crossed paths.
“I may have snooped in your car while you were getting food.” She tries to hide her smile when mine grows. I should have expected her to do something like that.
“Her name is Trinity, she’s twenty-five,” I start, not sure how to just speak about it.
“What happened to her?” she asks softly, taking my hand on her knee and intertwining our fingers.
“She had a hiking accident six years ago that put her in a coma. She hasn’t woken up since and most likely never will.”
She swallows. “What about your family?”
I shake my head. “My mom disappeared when I was five and Trinny was only two. Haven’t heard or seen her since. My dad died seven years ago from lung cancer. And then my sister had her accident on the day of his one-year anniversary.” I clear my throat, fighting the surge of emotions taking root.
“They used to go hiking and discover new trails together all the time. I was never really the outdoorsy type, but Trinity and my dad bonded over that. After he died, Trinny started doing more of them; she said it was her way of keeping his spirit alive, that it’s in those moments she felt closest to him.” I smile sadly.
“Then for his anniversary she went out to do a difficult hike they had always planned to do together. She thought fulfilling their bucket list would bring her closure. Instead, it took her away from me.”
“Noah…” She leans in closer, her face scrunching up with the sudden movement, like her pain might be coming back now that the water is cooling down. She takes a deep breath, letting it out, then places her free hand along my cheek. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this alone. It couldn’t have been easy.”
