Page 83 of Some Kinda Romance

Again.

I wouldn’t have spent all damn weekend after that quote with my head in the clouds about how well things were going.

Right now, I felt like a fool.

Again.

As much as I liked him, I couldn’t keep feeling this way. I couldn’t keep believing that it was going to get better when it wasn’t. I’d done that once before, and instead of getting better, things had just gotten worse and worse.

While I knew that Dash and Ethan were completely different, at the end of the day, Dash was also a man I was romantically involved with who I couldn’t fully trust. Another man who did and said things without any regard for how they would affect me.

Checking the time, I saw that I had to leave and I didn’t bother taking anything with me other than my phone and keys. This wasn’t going to take long.

Dash was already waiting when I got to the park. Sitting on a bench that was partially shielded from view by hedges and trees, he was staring straight ahead of himself with a thoughtful expression on his chiseled features.

I could tell from that look on his face that he’d seen the article. I simply didn’t know if he was trying to come up with the next lie to tell me or if he was just annoyed about being in the press again. If it’s the latter, then that’s rich considering that you gave them a damn quote.

Sliding my phone and keys into my jacket pocket, I strode over to him and folded my arms across my chest. “We’re just friends?”

He glanced up into my eyes, his eyebrows rising. He shook his head and sat up straighter. “I didn’t know what to say. It seemed better to go with what we’d already told them than to give them something new.”

“It’s not that hard to tell the truth, Dash. They already know we’re not just friends, so what’s the harm in telling them that we’re seeing each other? Or that we’re seeing where things go?”

A slight crease appeared on his brow as he stared back at me. “We didn’t talk about that.”

I scoffed. “We didn’t? That’s funny. I swear I remember a couple conversations where we talked about what we wanted from each other.”

“Sure, but we never talked about telling the press the truth. For all they know, we really are just friends. Friends who made out once, but⁠—”

“No, Dash. We were more than just friends when you gave that quote, but the important part of that sentence is the word ‘were.’ We were more than just friends.”

He blinked rapidly before his expression hardened. “What are you saying, Serenity?”

“I’m saying that you need to figure out what you want,” I said clearly, holding his gaze and fighting the urge to comfort him when I saw the edge of hurt creeping into those honey-colored eyes. “You can’t keep telling me everything I want to hear and then turning around and distancing yourself from me.”

He scoffed. “That’s not what I was doing.”

My head slowly lowered to one side. “Are you sure? From where I’m standing, that’s exactly what you did. Once again, you made sure to be crystal clear about the fact that we don’t mean anything to each other. I’m tired of it, Dash.”

“What?” His features scrunched up as he shook his head. “Tired of what? I wasn’t distancing myself from you. I fed them a lie because I was being consistent. That’s what we told them before. That’s what you told them before.”

“Sure, but that was before. It was before we knew what this was or what it could be. It was before we repeatedly talked about what we wanted to be. It was before. This is after, and in the after, you told them we were nothing more than friends. Obviously, you’re not ready for the world to know that you’re more than just a playboy and I’m tired of it. I’m tired of feeling like you’d really rather do anything than have anyone know that we’re together.”

“It’s not like that,” he argued, rising to his feet but not coming any closer. “Come on, Serenity. Where are you getting this from? So what if I told them we were just friends? What did you want me to say?”

“The truth would’ve been a decent place to start, but it’s too late for that now,” I said, finally answering two of the most important questions I’d asked myself earlier. “I’m done, Dash. I don’t want to be hurt anymore. I don’t want to have to keep doubting myself or my place in your life. I deserve more than that and I’m done settling for less.”

With tears burning the backs of my eyes, I turned away from him and left. I’d done the right thing but that didn’t make it hurt any less. While I was proud of myself for standing my ground and not giving in, my heart was tearing itself to shreds as I hurried back to the privacy of my car.

Once I was there, I finally allowed the tears to flow, giving myself ten minutes to grieve what I’d thought I’d found and what I’d hoped for in the future. Just ten minutes before I would head back to the office. It would never be enough, but it would have to do.

It was time that I remembered what was really important in my life right now, and that was healing and building the company into everything it could be. As long as I focused on that, I could stop adding fresh pain to the lifetime’s worth I was already carrying around.