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“Five minutes.” He held up his palm.
“Sure, Ricky.”
I held out my arm, and when he hooked his through mine, I did a mental fist pump. We walked out of the garage together to get a little privacy, but I was disappointed when Leo pulled away from me, crossed his arms over his chest and pressed his lips together.
“You’re going to run out of time.” He pointed to his wrist.
I dragged a hand through my shaggy hair, wondering when the last time I had a haircut was. No, not the time to think about that.
“Right, okay. Um, about us. And what happened.”
“There is no us. Not anymore, Andy.”
“What if I made a mistake?”
Leo’s blue eyes were sad as he watched me. “You really have no idea, do you? You broke me. I would have done anything you asked of me. I didn’t want to break up. That was all you. And I didn’t want to keep you from achieving your dreams, either. I went into a deep depression. I didn’t sleep, eat, shower, or do anything but wait for your calls that didn’t always come. The sporadic text messages that kept me from living my life.It was like we never existed. Only you did because your social media accounts were still active. I saw your pictures, your status updates, everything you were tagged in. You were out there living your life, and I was right here. Right fucking here where you left me.”
“Leo, baby—”
Leo shook his head. “No, don’t do that. Noel had to pry me away from my phone. Ezra had to beg me to leave the house. I almost lost my ride, and Ezra’s friendship with your dad suffered, too. I bet you didn’t know that.”
The guilt hit me hard. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry. Well, that changes everything.” His chin quivered, and I realized he was fighting back tears.
My heart felt heavy in my chest. “I love you. It wasn’t like I did it on purpose. All those things I told you. I meant them. I never lied to you.”
I reached for his hands. He slapped me away.
“But you did! You said you’d keep in touch with me, that we could still be friends, but I hardly ever heard from you. You just forgot about me!” Leo exclaimed.
Tears spilled down his cheeks, and my heart broke all over again for the boy I never forgot.
I took a step toward him. “I never meant to hurt you, Ricky. I love you, and I wanted to tell you that it wasn’t permanent, but Hank thought it was best if we didn’t have any relationships. That we would be easier to sell if we were young, pretty, and single.” I was going to hell for those lies.
“You deleted our pictures, Andy! You unfollowed, unfriended, and removed me from your life! How is that not permanent? I was still there, still watching you with those girls!” Leo cried. “Your time is up. I need you to leave.”
I shook my head. “I’m afraid that I can’t do that.”
“That’s too bad. I have practice. I can’t have you here. I have—Fuck!” Leo leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.
When I got down to rub my palm over his back, I thought he would push me away, but when he didn’t, I wrapped my arms around him, trying to comfort him.
“I love you. I do. I never stopped,” I murmured.
“I can’t do this again. I won’t.” Leo pushed me away. “I need you to let me go, Andy.”
Then he turned and left me standing outside the garage as he walked away, his back straight, his shoulders squared like nothing had happened.
And straight into RJ’s open arms.
Chapter Three
Leo
The sound of Ezra giggling with Seth Hill, one of my brother’s fiancés, filled the air. It was nice to be able to spend this time with everyone, but my heart just wasn’t into it. I stared down at the chicken salad I had picked out for lunch. It had looked so appetizing when I saw it, but my hunger had disappeared. I pushed the poultry around the bowl with my fork before I sighed and looked up. RJ was watching me with worry etched into his handsome face as he slid into the seat across from me.
“You know, there’s a good chance that Andy thinks we’re a couple.” His lips pulled into a smile. “Bet he really hates that.”
