Before I knew it, my mouth was on hers. My heart was doing the thinking at this point. I wouldn’t open my lips because I’d convinced myself that this was innocent so long as I couldn’t taste her. It was a firm, desperate kiss, and I didn’t even know what it meant.
I felt empty and confused.
She ended it. “Get out of here. You’re gonna miss your flight.”
My hands were still on her cheeks. “I never got over hurting you the first time, but hurting you twice…believe me when I say this was the last thing I ever wanted to see happen in my lifetime.”
“Why did you come back just now?”
“I turned around and saw you crying. What kind of a heartless asshole would leave you like that?”
“Well, you weren’t supposed to see that. You really should have kept walking because now you’re making it worse.”
“I didn’t want that to be my last visual.”
“If you really love her, you shouldn’t have kissed me,” she yelled.
“I do love her.” It came out really defensively. I looked up at the sky because I needed to think for a second.
How would I explain the realization I had on the dance floor last night?
“You want to know the truth? I fucking love you, too. I don’t think I realized how much until I saw you again.”
“You love us both? That’s messed up, Elec.”
“You’ve always told me you wanted honesty. I just gave it to you. I’m sorry if the truth is a fucked up mess.”
“Well, she has the home court advantage. You’ll forget about me again soon enough. That will simplify things.”
She was getting back in the car.
“Greta…don’t leave like this.”
“I’m not the one leaving.”
Ouch.
She drove off and left me at the curb, which was fitting because I’d unintentionally kicked her to the same place…twice, actually.
I was really tempted to jump in a cab and follow her. But I got on that plane back to California because for once in my life, I needed to do the right thing.
***
My finger kept pressing the next page button hoping there was more to the story. He couldn’t have possibly put me through all of that just to end it right where we left things.
When he sent me the manuscript, he said it wasn’t finished. It was probable that he didn’t feel I needed to know anything more than what involved me. Since the rest of his life would involve her, there was no need to torture me with more. I got it now, and I appreciated that. He wanted me to understand what he was feeling all of that time so he could have some closure and move on.
Well, good for him.
I took out my phone and sent him a text that sounded cordial despite my anger.
I finished. Thank you. That was an amazing ride. I’m honored you asked me to read it. The history of your family blew me away and explained so much. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I understand so much more now and also why you ended it where you did.
Fuck.
I was crying and had to go back out to my friends.
Devastated, I was determined that the rest of the night would be about forgetting him once and for all.
“Help me drown my sorrows,” I remember him saying to me at the casino. Well, that was what I needed right now.
My friends were on the dance floor and cheered when they spotted me. They pulled me in, and we danced together for at least an hour. The more I thought about Elec, the harder and faster I swayed my hips and shook my head around to the point where my hair must have looked like I’d gotten electrocuted. Getting lost in the music, I didn’t want to stop long enough to feel all of the painful emotions that his words had caused. I certainly didn’t want to accept that the character of Greta Hansen had now been written out of his life.
A half-hour later, my phone buzzed.
What’s your theory on why I ended it where I did?
His response stunned me. To prevent myself from losing it on the dance floor, I kept dancing as if nothing had happened. I didn’t want my friends to think something was wrong.
I shook my ass and typed.
Greta: Because you didn’t want to hurt me. The rest has nothing to do with me.
Elec: You’re sure about that?
Greta: What are you saying?
Elec: Stop shaking your ass for five seconds and maybe I’ll tell you.
What?
Before I could turn around, the feeling of strong hands grasping at the sides of my dress from behind caused me to suddenly stop moving. They slowly slid down my waist and landed on my ass with a cool self-assurance. That grip. That smell. The way my body immediately responded.
No. It couldn’t be.
CHAPTER 21
I flipped around and was met with smoky eyes, incandescent even in the darkness of the club. My heartbeat was so intense, it seemed like it was dueling with the bass of the fast-paced music. Everything around me seemed to fade away upon the realization that Elec was right in front of me, holding onto me as if he knew his presence would jar me to the point that I might collapse and need him for balance.