Page 76 of Heal Me, Love Me

“You getting ready to head to Titan?” I wondered.

“Duh. Why do you sound so weird?”

Damn, he could even pick up on shit over the phone.

I leaned back against the hotel pillows, looking toward the ceiling. “Rowan’s at Atlantic Combat.”

“I thought you guys were going to check out the place yesterday?”

“We did. They invited him back to work out with Dante Rivas.”

Mason let out a low whistle. “Holy shit.TheDante Rivas?”

“Yeah.”

Silence settled briefly between us before Mason asked, “So what’s wrong?”

“If Atlantic Combat sucked, this would be easy.”

“But it doesn’t suck.”

“Nope. The gym is hella cool.”

“And you think he’s going to move?”

I closed my eyes. “Yep.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly.”

I heard him move around what I assumed was the kitchen, based on the sound of pots and pans jostling around.

“You know what the worst part is?” I asked.

“What?”

“I already know how this story goes. Guys leave gyms all the time. They chase better opportunities, everybody pretends to be supportive, and then they never see each other again.”

“But you guys are dating. You don’t really think that’s going to happen, do you?”

I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see me. “I think we’re both pretending it’ll be easy to navigate.”

I loved Rowan, and I knew he loved me. But would love be enough if we ended up living on opposite sides of the country?

“You haven’t even been together that long this time,” Mason pointed out.

“Trust me, I know.”

“But it’s serious, right?”

“It is.”

“More serious than before?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “Because this time we actually know what losing each other feels like.”

The line went quiet for a second, then Mason sighed. “That’s rough.”