Page 120 of Someone Like Me
The left side of her mouth comes up, but though she’s grinning, it doesn’t meet her eyes. “Maybe just a few weeks then,” she says, her tone a little rueful. “At least until my parents go back to Abuja.”
“Spill it, Guppy.” It’s so obvious now. She’s nervous about telling me what happened. I ignore the flash of tension that streaks through my middle. My job is to comforther.
She tilts her head back against my bicep and stares at the ceiling. “I guess I’m in denial.”
“About what?” If she says me — if they’re trying to make her see reason — I won’t put up a fight.
“About who they revealed themselves to be tonight.” She flicks her gaze to mine. “My parents, I mean.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
Her lashes lower, and I can tell by the line that appears between her brows she’s lost in thought, in her memories of the evening. Then she looks back at me. “You know how when you’re little, you think your parents can do anything? That they never make a mistake?”
I bunch my lips, weighing my own words. “It’s been a long time since I thought that.” My old man used to hang the moon as far as Anthony and I were concerned. Then he left. “But, yeah, I know what you mean.”
“It’s been a long time for me too. Probably around twelve or thirteen—”
I bite down on my grin because that’s about five years later than I came to the conclusion that my parents didn’t have all the answers.
“And, trust me, even though I loved them, in high school, I thought they were wrong about nearly everything,” she says, and the look in her eye has me picturing a rebellious teenaged Evie. The image I come up with is adorable, but to keep her talking, I hold my tongue.
“But it’s only been recently that I’ve really questioned their decisions. Their beliefs.” Her green eyes are clouded with doubt. “It makes me wonder if I really knew them… and it’s like the rug has been pulled out from under my feet.”
She casts her eyes down, and I wait for her to continue, but as I do, I just watch as her frown deepens, and she looks more and more upset.
“Tell me, Evie.” I give her a squeeze.
Her mouth twists to the side, and she blinks at me. “Maybe it’s really not that big of a deal.”
“Tell me.”
She huffs a sigh. “They offered to send me to Europe for six months.”
If I weren’t holding Evie’s warm body against me, I would swear someone has splashed me with ice water. Because I know how much she wants to travel.
A sinister fear uncoils in my belly. Whatever I do, I must keep it in check. If this is the way she leaves me, I have to make it easy.
But then my mind starts going. Maybe this is why she found it so hard to tell me. What if she chose to wait until after we made love to break the news?
I don’t know how I feel about that. Right now, there’s too much to feel. A whirlwind of emotions begins to take shape in me, around me. Would I have done it? Made love to her? If I knew she’d go now? Tomorrow?
Yes. God, yes.
Would I have told her I love her?
The question stops me cold.
I’m not going to lie to myself. The answer to that is no. Just no. But I can’t bring myself to regret saying it. I’ve never come close to saying it before. Never felt it before. So who knows if I’d ever feel it again. So, yeah, I’m glad I had the chance to feel that. The abandon to give her my all.
No matter what, I’ll always have that.
I swallow, hoping my voice comes out even. “You gonna go?”
I feel the shock that jolts through her body. Evie gapes at me. “Are you kidding?” She looks disgusted. And maybe even a little offended. I mask my relief.
“I know you’ve always wanted to go,” I say evenly.
She glares. “Drew, they’re just trying to buy me.” Her green eyes practically spark with ire. “Using money to make me do what they want. Of course I’m not going.”
