“You’re taking care of me,” she whispers. This is the second time Ara’s referenced what I’ve done in a way that makes it sound like a phenomenon.
Her eyes sail to mine, and I see she’s close to crying. Only instead of come-too-hard tears, these are more delicate. Vulnerable.
“Heyyyy.” I close the space between us. Cupping her face, I swipe my thumb over her cheek to catch her first tear. “Why are you upset?”
“I’m not upset.”
I feel like a piece of shit. I’ve gone overboard and shouldn’t have. I just thought I’d read her right, and she wanted what I did, and now I’m afraid I’ve misunderstood the whole thing. “You look upset, Ara.”
“I’m just so mad at myself for not asking for your number sooner.”
Her confession shocks me.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’d log onto Discord and go into our channel, Glitch. Then I’d chicken out on saying anything and close it.”
“I was no better.” The energy between us shifts a little. The tightness in my chest slightly eases. “I should have put myself out there a long fucking time ago, Ara.” Instead, I kept my distance and nearly lost her when she started dating someone else.
“No more dragging our feet,” she says. “Promise?”
“Sooo, we’re getting married in an hour?”
Her laugh warms my body from tongue to toes. But I’m only half joking. I’d marry her on the spot, right here, right now, if it was possible. I know Ara’s meant to be mine.
Her cell buzzes in the living room. She looks over, her brow furrowing.
“You gonna answer?” If someone was calling me this late, I’d be worried.
“No.” Her tone is guarded.
Annnd now I’m on high alert. Does she already know who that would be, calling her so late? “Is there something going on I can help with?”
“No.” But she’s cagey again and I don’t like it. “I’ve already handled it.”
If that was true, she wouldn’t be having this reaction to a middle-of-the-night phone call she won’t answer. I bite my tongue because if she doesn’t want me to know, that’s her decision and I’ll respect it.
“It’s Jason,” she says. “I’m almost sure of it. He does this sometimes. I’ve blocked him, but he uses other people’s phones to call me from.”
“Maybe you should check to be sure? What if it’s a family member or something with an emergency?”
She gives me a long, solemn look, then pads over to the couch and digs her phone out. I turn and plate two slices of pizza, so I don’t look like a rabid guard dog foaming at the mouth. Ara comes back in and takes her plate from me. “It was him.”
Do not be aggressive. Do not be possessive.
“He always breathes heavy into the phone.”
I’m glad I haven’t picked my plate up yet because I’m sure it would break under my clenching hand. Taking in a few deep breaths, I hope I sound calm when I ask, “How long ago did you break up?”
“About six weeks ago. Just after he broke my computer.”
“I’m glad you got away from that asshole.”
“Me too.”
I grab my plate and follow her out to the little dining table between the kitchen and living room. I glance at her door and immediately plan out a new security system for her apartment. One deadbolt doesn’t cut it for me.
“Thank you for telling me,” I say, sitting down across from her.
“Thanks for listening.”
I’ll always listen. I’m good at it, and I want her to know she can come to me about anything—something I wish she’d known sooner.
Ara shrugs. “He’ll get over it.”
I leave it alone, but I’m not convinced she’s right. Ara’s amazing and Jason’s lost her. Even if it’s his own fault, that doesn’t mean he won’t regret it enough to try and beg her for another chance. He’s done that plenty of times already and his persistence has paid off in the past.
But I can’t let that stop me from showing her there’s better out there than that fuckface.
“Olives, huh?” I chomp down.
“Are you judging me, Glitch?”
“A little.” I take another bite.
“Better than pineapple.”
“I knew it.” I lean back and wipe my mouth with a napkin. “I just knew there’d be something about you that wasn’t perfect.”