AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mallory: I’m fine. Want to grab something to eat?
Me: Sure. I was going to head to the pool to lay out for a while if you want to go.
Mallory: Anywhere but here would be good right now. That idiot might come back.
By the time I’ve fed Puffbutt and grabbed my towel, she taps on my door. “Did Mitch have to leave?” I ask as we head to my car.
“He had to work. We’re meeting again tonight.”
The beautiful day has brought a lot of people out to the city pool, and we’re lucky to grab a couple of loungers in a good spot. After we’re settled in, I lie back and close my eyes. “So, do you want to talk about what happened?”
She sighs. “It’s like now that I’m finally coming to terms with the end of my marriage, Dennis has to come around and mess things up. I have a good thing going with Mitch. We have fun together, and the sex is great. Almost a year alone and I never heard from Dennis. The second I find someone else…”
I don’t understand it. After everything she went through, how can she think another relationship is a good idea? That little display just reassures me I made the right decision when it comes to Nick. It’s exactly the sort of thing I don’t want. Drama, fights. I’m never going to be the one screaming and throwing things in the yard.
“Do you think that’s why he’s trying to get you back? Because of Mitch?”
“No, he didn’t know about him until today.”
“You really nailed him with that slipper,” I remark.
“Did you see the mark it left? Fuck with me, again.” We both burst into giggles.
“So, where is One Lick Nick today? You two usually spend the weekends together, don’t you?”
A feeling washes over me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was regret because there’s no way I’m missing a man I haven’t been away from for twenty-four hours. “We’re not seeing each other anymore.”
“Oh girl, what did he do?”
A cloud passes over the sun, and I open my eyes to see her looking at me. “He wants a relationship.”
Her brow crinkles. “With someone else?”
“No, with me.”
“So, he wants to be exclusive and you want to date other people?”
“No.” Why is this so hard to explain? “I don’t want to date anyone else. I just don’t want anything serious.”
She blinks and turns over on her stomach. “So, you’re fine with him seeing other people?”
My insides knot in an unpleasant way I’m not used to experiencing. I don’t like the thought of him seeing anyone else. Some other woman wrapped in his arms, laughing at his jokes, taking his hand as they walk.
Mallory’s voice is kind when she adds, “You can’t have it both ways, you know. If all you want is sex, there’s nothing wrong with that. But you can’t have the boyfriend perks without making him your boyfriend.”
I roll over to my side. “How can you still think relationships are a good idea after what Dennis put you through? After what happened today?”
“I had twenty amazing years with Dennis before things went bad. And we both know it went really bad, but that doesn’t erase years of love and happiness. It tore me apart when it was over, but I’m healing, and now there’s the possibility of finding love with someone else. If I throw that away, I may protect myself from getting hurt, but it would also be saying that love isn’t worth it, and to me, it is.”
“Even if you end up throwing things at him?”
Mallory laughs. “That’s just my crazy coming out, girl.”
“Men make you crazy.”
“They do, but they also make life interesting. And there’s no feeling in the world like having someone who knows everything about you and loves you no matter what.” She pauses before continuing. “I know that isn’t what you think you want, Sam, but you deserve it. I hope you’ll give it a chance someday, if not with Nick, with someone. Personally, I’d rather give it a shot with a man who can make me come with one lick, but to each their own.”
* * *
