Page 54 of Barron's Second Chance
"On and off for a year. She was pushing for more," he moved his hand restlessly. "I wasn't feeling it as much as she was."
"So you were with her because you were bored?"
"Bored, hurt, and jealous, yes."
"Jealous?" She exclaimed in surprise. "What did you have to be jealous about?"
His jaw clenched as he stared over her shoulder. "That ad you did for Linger Denim. Topless with some pretty boy holding your tits. Shit, yeah, I was jealous."
She gave a short bark of laughter at that, but there was no humor. She was incredulous that he felt entitled to that emotion.
"That was a posed photo with about twenty people in the room, including my mom. Try walking in on your boyfriend making out with another girl in his pool. It didn't look like you were acting there," she snapped at him bitterly, uncaring that her resolve had cracked a bit.
He immediately stood and rushed to crouch in front of her, grabbing her hands. She flinched at the rush of electricity that surged through the contact. She flicked her eyes toward the photos behind him, wanting to avoid the intimacy of the moment.
Having him this close to her, seeing his green and gold-flecked eyes was wreaking havoc on her.
"I know, baby. I know it was stupid. I had no right to be jealous after the shit I pulled on you." He tugged at her hands, forcing her to look down at him. She could see his eyes flare as she made contact. "I'm so sorry, not only for cheating but for how you found out."
Eden nodded, feeling uncomfortable at the turn their conversation took and not wanting to rehash a scenario that had replayed in her head for years.
"You don't have to tell me anything else; it's none of my business -"
"Ask me. I want full disclosure. I want to be honest with you so we can start to move on."
She took a deep breath before continuing. "After Lissa, did you have other girlfriends?" She asked softly.
Barron winced before standing to move back to the stool. He rubbed the back of his neck in another sign of discomfort as he considered her question.
"You don't need to answer that if you don't want to," she again insisted. She wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't volunteer the information. They were long broken up by then, and it was none of her business who he was with after Lissa.
Call it morbid curiosity.
"No, no, I want to tell you. I'm just not proud of it."
Curious, Eden leaned forward.
"I didn't have a girlfriend, no one like you anyway, no one stable and official. I usually just slept with random girls." He held his hands out again in a plea to hear him out. "This is gonna sound like lip service, but I honestly had no desire to enter into a relationship with anyone who wasn't you."
While that did make her feel somewhat good, he would have still been with her if he hadn't tried to dip his toe on a not-so-greener side.
She swallowed hard before asking her next question. "Anyone I know?"
He shook his head vehemently. "No, the town's too small. It was only tourists or short-term workers that stayed for summer."
"This summer..." she started to ask.
"No! No. No one this summer. In fact, it's been a long time. I haven't slept with anyone since mom told me you agreed to help her out with classes."
He shook his head. "I hadn't connected the dots 'til recently, but my lack of desire for sex most likely stemmed from the fact that you were coming back to town for summer."
Despite the seriousness of their discussion, her lips tipped up in a smile. "So I cock blocked you, is what you're saying?"
Barron snorted in laughter at her quip. "I'm not complaining," he said heavily.
They looked at each other in the quiet of the room. Their solemn talk sat heavy in the air between them.
"Anything else you need to know?"
