Page 173 of Manhattan Bossholes

She shrugged, releasing my hand. I missed the warmth of her immediately. “Levi has a hard time accepting the word ‘no’ or considering other people’s feelings.”

“Is that what happened between you? Or why it ended, I should say.”

Cora cleared her throat, wringing her hands together in her lap. I could tell that however it ended, it still bothered her. I was about to tell her she didn’t need to explain if she didn’t want to, when she said, “I started dating Levi in junior year.”

“Wait,” I said suddenly. “You told me you broke it off last year?”

She nodded. “We were together for almost fifteen years, total.”

“Jesus,” I said, leaning back in my seat. I hadn’t realized they’d been together that long. That was…Shit, that was like half her life! No wonder seeing him again threw her for a loop.

“Last year, Levi went away on a business trip to California.”

I nodded, waiting for her to go on, watching the tiny muscles in her face twitch as she clenched her jaw. Shadows spread across the field, slowly covering us in darkness, but there was just enough light to see the tears gather in her eyes.

“While he was in LA, he fell head over heels for a wannabe actress named Sally.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Trust me, I wish I was. But, uh…Levi was convinced she was his soulmate. He decided instantly that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. So, he flew back to New York, broke the news to me as soon as he walked in the door, and went to our bedroom to pack up all his crap. I was surprised, confused, hurt. I had so many questions, but he had no interest in answering them or checking in to see how I felt about all of it. He was in love with someone else, so my feelings didn’t matter anymore. Just like that, it was over.”

“He didn’t deserve you,” I said.

Cora let out a sigh. “Yeah, I know. Jennifer helped me see that. And my mom. It was just hard at first, because it was so sudden. There weren’t any warning signs. Everything seemed fine right up until it was over. Once he was gone, I had a lot to work through. I mean, he was the guy I’d spent over a decade trusting to love me and be there for me, and then he chose to treat me like that. It had me wondering if he’d ever really loved me at all.”

“Did you love him?” I asked, bracing myself for her answer.

“I did…but I’m not sure I was ever truly in love with him.”

“Really?”

“When I first started dating him, I thought he was cute and fun, and I liked spending time with him, but it wasn’t…” She flushed, looking away from me. “Well, it wasn’t as intense as what I was used to. Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting it to last. I thought we’d date for a while and go our separate ways. But when everything happened with my dad senior year, he was there for me. By the time the dust settled, and mom and I were okay again, he’d become such a fixture in my life that it never occurred to me to question it. We settled into the routine of being together. We probably would have stayed in that rut forever if he hadn’t met Sally. I still hate the way he handled things, but I have to say, him leaving was probably the biggest favor he ever did for me. He set both of us free.”

“I’m glad you can see it that way,” I said. “Too bad he doesn’t seem to agree.”

“Yeah.” She wrinkled her nose. “Let’s just hope he got the message that I’m very definitely not interested. Though…” She smiled mischievously. “It probably twisted the knife a little to have the message come from you. He was always so jealous of you, you know?”

I smirked. “Was he really?”

“Of course he was. He knew you were my first. And he knew…well, he knew that the reason I started going out with him was because I was on the rebound from you.”

My smirk faded fast. “Rebound?” I repeated.

“My self-esteem took a bit of a hit when you ended things. He made me feel good about myself again.”

“I didn’t realize you’d struggled,” I said. Cora had always carried herself so well after the breakup. She’d seemed bubbly, always surrounded by a chattering group of friends. Working on the yearbook. Stage managing the school play. Frankly, for a time I’d wondered how she could have gotten over me so quickly. But I’d constantly reminded myself that I was the one who broke up with her, so I had no right to judge how she handled it. And besides, I knew she deserved to be happy, however quickly that happened.

“Why would you have? It’s not exactly like we stayed close after our breakup. And by that point in the year, you had other things to worry about. College applications. Football. Graduation.”

“I know…but…God, Cora. I’m so sorry.” Here I was judging Levi for the way he’d treated her, but had I been any better? No, I hadn’t smashed a fifteen-year-relationship, but I’d also broken up with her without much warning. At the time, ending things had felt necessary, but looking back on it now, I could see how badly I’d handled it. Had I hurt her as badly as Levi had? And worse, was I to blame for everything she’d gone through with Levi? “I didn’t mean to chase you into his arms.”

“You didn’t chase me,” she reasoned.

“Maybe not, but if you only dated him because of the way I made you feel⁠—”

She shook her head, interrupting my thought. “Look, it’s not all on you. Please don’t think I’m blaming you for my own choices or Levi’s behavior. I was the one who chose to stay with him—even with the warning signs.”

I frowned, disliking the sound of that. “What do you mean warning signs?”