Page 111 of The Girl with No Name
“You didn’t want to come? She had to convince you?”
“No. Honestly, I never wanted to see you again.”
“Damn. Why not?”
“I felt bad about what had happened between us. I fucked up your life.”
“Fuck it up? You didn’t fuck anything up!”
“Oh?”
“So why’d you come if you didn’t want to?”
“I was resistant. But Vi sent me a video of you on stage…and I had to come find out if what you said is true.”
“And what’s that?” I ask. “I said a lot of things.” Though I know what she’s referring to.
“You love me?”
“Yeah.”
She inhales and looks up into the night sky. “Reed, I know we had a great weekend and everything but?—”
“A fuckingspectacularweekend.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever, but I can’t stand the way I feel about it.”
“What do you mean?
“I actually feel bad about how much I enjoyed the weekend with you. What about your girlfriend? I feel awful. I was in the moment, and I let my emotions get the best of me. I don’t like feeling this way. I’m not about to be someone’s number two—already been down that road, and I know where it leads.”
I examine Luna. It seems like she’s trying to convince herself that we weren’t a big deal, more than she truly feels it. “Samantha and I broke up.”
“Wow. For real?”
“For real.”
She looks away. “Still. It was just one weekend.”
“Luna, you were a catalyst for something I should have done a long time ago. My ex and I were out of sync. Do you really think we had a healthy relationship? You said it yourself. Things weren’t good between us. They hadn’t been for a while. You just shined light on that.”
“Processing all this…” She brings her eyes back to mine. “But how can you just come out like that and say you love me? You don’t know anything about me. You don’t want me. I’m damaged. Trust me.”
“I know plenty about you. And I love you.”
“How do you know?”
“Hmmm... You’re right. Let me check.”
Running my hand through her hair, I finesse her firmly up against the building. With one hand on her hip and another guiding her head, I press my lips to hers. She tastes like mystery and new beginnings. I step away. “Just checked. Yes, I do. I know how I feel when I’m around you. And I want more of that. A lot more. Maybe I’m crazy.”
She stares at me for a few moments, then looks away.
“Luna, look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel the same.”
Her eyes start to water over. “I’m not an easy person to love. I’m fucked up, Reed! You know how I am! I still have nightmares. Bad dreams. I can’t get over them.”
I hold Luna by her shoulders and cock my head a little, looking her over. “That’s okay. You’ll get over them.”