Page 6 of That Summer
“Well, the jerk thought my tears meant something else, weakness or what, I’ll never know.” She swallowed and shuddered. “He kissed me.”
“And you let him?” The disgusting tone in Lucas’ voice was clear as a bell.
“No! Never.”
“But Nate saw?”
“I assume as much, as he left in a huff. I slugged Matthew as hard as I could, screamed a string of profanities that would’ve embarrassed a trucker, and chased after Nate, but he peeled out of the parking lot when I got close. I tried texting him, but I got nothing.”
“Oh, Aurora.” His voice wavered, an undercurrent of disgust cutting through.
“I know. I hate myself too.” If hatred were a pit, she’d be halfway to the other side of the world by now.
“So, he must’ve thought you were back dating Matthew?”
“I’d never told Nate it was Matthew I had my… indiscretion with. Nate knew I’d been with someone because I told him, but I never mentioned who it was.”
“I’m sure he figured it out.”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice falling to the floor. “I’m sure he’s put it all together by now.” She leaned her head against the back of the couch. The room went silent aside from the occasional sigh. “So it’s over for good now, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s with her. He won’t leave Marissa for me. And why would he? She’s beautiful. She’s into race cars and has no fear of them. They have so much in common. She’d be able to convince him not to retire.”
He sidled up closer to her. “Yeah, they have cars in common, but that’s about it. Aside from that, I can’t even figure out why they’d be together. He has much higher standards than that. She’s a hoe-bag with a dirty reputation. Nate sticks with clean-cut, wholesome types.”
She let out a loud laugh. “Then what the hell was he doing with me? I’m so far from clean-cut and wholesome.”
“For now, but maybe it's there. You know? Hidden underneath this tough exterior you broadcast to the world.” A tiny smile caused the corners of his mouth to turn up. A vast improvement over the so serious you’ve-screwed-everything-up-again expression. “Well, there had to be something about you he latched onto.”
“Yeah, well the jury’s still out on that one.”
“If you say so.” He winked. “Marissa though… she’s just… well, she’s not even a nice person. I’d hate for her to be my sister-in-law.”
She whipped her head up at him so fast she kinked her neck. “What??” A putrid green filled her soul. And it wasn’t from jealousy.
Lucas laughed while shaking his head. “Let me explain. Every person I know who dates someone, I question whether or not they’d be a great fit with our family. I get something like a sixth sense about these things. Like Chris and Max, he’s perfect for our family, although he needs to hurry up and commit already. Balances with Chris quite nicely. Just like Bill does with Mom. But we’ll see how that goes.”
She was afraid to ask. “And… me?”
“Yeah, I thought about it.”
She leaned forward to hear his response.
“It wouldn’t have worked out.”
“Oh,” she said, slumping into the blanket. Unguarded, the tears fell fast and furious.
“Kidding,” he said quickly.
She playfully punched him in the shoulder. It wasn’t very hard, more like a tap. “You’re a jerk.”
“And you’re finally seeing it.” His infectious laugh filled the room as he pushed her back.
The tears damped her knees as she rested her heavy head.
“Well, now that I’ve trampled all over your emotions, what should we do today?”