I had a job at the chiropractor's office, a job I absolutely loved. The people were great. It was fast-paced and fun. Then I came home and wrote every night. I started a story about how things could have been if Rhodes and I had ended up together. It was my escape.
When the baby came,Rhodes called to let me know.
I was genuinely excited when he told me he had a son named Levi. We had talked about that name before, how much we loved it, and knowing that he had, in a way, honored my feelings about the name, was special to me.
“I’m so happy for you,” I told him, and I meant it.
“I have news. It's big,” he said.
“More news besides a son?” I laughed.
“I took a job with the Mustangs.”
I gasped. “No way.” My heart started pounding. “You're moving to Denver?”
“Actually, I thought I’d move to Silver Hills. It's beautiful there. I love that it's a small town. I'd like to raise Levi in a place like that. And the best part about it is that you’re there. I’ve talked Carrie into it. What do you think?”
The thought of having to regularly see the woman he had a baby with felt almost unbearable. But I wanted my best friend nearby.
“I’m going to buy a place for Carrie close by,” he said.
I sat down. “So you're not going to live together?” I asked.
“No,” he laughed, “that would never work.”
I sagged with relief.
“Oh, okay. Well, that's incredible, Rhodes. I can't believe we're going to live in the same place again. I'm so excited.” I knew he could hear it in my voice now, how much I felt those words. “Knowing I'll get to be part of Levi's life is the best news you could ever give me,” I said.
“Thanks, Elle love. It means so much to me that you want to be part of his life. He's perfect, baby. He'sperfect.”
“I bet he is. How soon can I meet him?”
I hadn’t wantedto take Bernard with me when I met Levi for the first time, but he insisted on it. He wanted to meet the best friend I talked about all the time. He tried to act like he wasn’t jealous, but he so was.
“So, he’s always been out with a different girl every night but got a girl pregnant…and you expect me to believe nothing has ever happened between the two of you?” he asked on the ride to Rhodes’ house.
I’d told Bernard that Rhodes was living the single life. I’d caught him reading things about Rhodes that had also probably shaped what he thought of him.
“Don’t believe everything you read about Rhodes. He’s very respectful of women and of me,” I said.
“Right,” Bernard said, laughing under his breath.
“Should we talk about what came up on your desktop after you’d been using it the other night?” I turned to look at him. I’d gone to his house for dinner and he’d left to pick up food.
His cheeks darkened. “Elle?—”
“I wasn’t checking up on you. I was looking for that address you wanted when I couldn’t find my phone. But after I saw the porn, I did do a little history search and…wow. Things make alotof sense after seeing how much you visit those sites.”
It was quiet for a second and I sighed.
“It probably wouldn’t bother me that you’re into porn if we had a normal sex life?—”
“I do that so we don’t have sex,” he said.
“But we’ve had sex before…just hardly ever,” I argued.
“And I felt awful about it. It’s not right. We should be married before we’re doing that and I just…I?—”
