Page 72 of Truth or More Truth
The way Bobby loves his daughter is arguably the sexiest thing about him, and there’s a lot of competition for that status.
He continues, “But if you think this could go somewhere, if you’re not scared off by my family situation and you’re willingand able to potentially move someday, I’d like to give this a shot. I don’t expect an answer right now. You probably need to think about it and talk it over with your friends or your mom or whoever you talk to. Leslie and Wendy both know all of this, so you won’t be breaking any confidences if you tell them anything I told you. I also don’t mind you telling your parents, if you want to.”
“Okay, thanks. I do need to think about it and talk through it. Thanks for giving me that chance. And thank you for telling me all of this. I know it wasn’t easy, but I’m glad you trusted me with it all. That means a lot.”
thirty
. . .
Istill don’t see how I can make things work with Melissa, but I’m relieved she knows everything now. Well, she knows about Kelli and Nanette, but not about my childhood. That can wait. I’ve given her enough to think about for today.
“Since you’ve shared your story,” Melissa says, “I think it’s time for me to tell you mine.”
My expectation was that we’d be ending the call after my revelation, but if she’s ready to talk, I’m not going to stop her. “Is it as dramatic as my story?”
She laughs. “No, but it’s not great.”
“OK, then. Hit me with it.” I lean back in my chair and kick my feet up on the desk in my home office. I came in here because there’s the least chance Kelli will overhear me from here. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s hovering outside the door, though.
“I told you I moved back to Chicago to be closer to my parents after my dad’s health issues, and that’s true. But it’s not the only reason I wanted to leave New York. My story is actually eerily similar to what happened with Randall and Colleen last year, except I was engaged. Jeremy and I were together for three years and engaged for two months when I caught him in our bed with one of our friends.”
Anger blasts through me and my fists clench. “Are you kidding me?”
“Unfortunately, no. But that’s not the whole story. While it gutted me that he did that, I’d been thinking about calling off the engagement anyway. I had a … well, there was this guy at work. I didn’t cheat with him, I promise you that, but we had a really strong connection. He wanted to pursue it, and I refused to do anything with him because I was engaged to Jeremy. But the fact is I wanted to. Not cheat—I didn’t want to cheat. But I was attracted to the other guy, both physically and emotionally, more than I was to my fiancé. That wasn’t fair to Jeremy, and I was trying to figure out how to tell him and break things off when I caught him with Traci. I honestly can’t blame him for what he did. I’m sure I’d been distant and he was reacting to that.”
“No,” I say forcefully. “His cheating wasnotyour fault. He chose to sleep with another woman.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t exactly faithful.”
“Did you do anything with that other guy? Did you go on a date with him? Did you kiss him or sleep with him? Did you have intimate conversations with him?”
“No.”
“Then you weren’t unfaithful. End of story.”
Melissa sighs. “Maybe.”
“No maybe about it.” I’ll keep telling her that until she believes it. “So after you dumped Jeremy, what happened? Did you end up dating that other guy?”
“The first thing I did was move out of our apartment. Jeremy’s name was the only one on the lease, so I had no choice. I crashed on a friend’s couch, but that wasn’t a long-term solution, obviously. And I didn’t date the other guy. Turned out he didn’t want a long-term relationship, and I was already considering leaving New York and didn’t want to jump immediately back into dating anyway. Coupled with the stuff with my dad, I decided the best thing I could do was move back home to Chicago. I haven’t regretted one minute of it. I reconnected with the Hamilton boys, became friends with Leslie and Wendy, and can’t imagine my life without any of them in it.”
Can she imagine her life without me in it? Probably. I’ve only been in it as more than an acquaintance for a little over a week.
“I love my life here, Bobby. But I also really like you. I was willing to try long-distance before, but knowing about Kelli, I’m now not sure. Not because I don’t want to date someone with a teenage kid, but because I don’t want her to get hurt, either. Does she know about me—about whatever this might be between us?”
I sigh. “She does, which makes it more complicated. She overheard me talking to her mother about you, and then she heard the voicemail Wendy left, ordering me to call you tonight.”
Melissa chuckles. “Wendy’s a keeper.”
“She is. But yes, since Kelli knows, there’s no keeping you and me under the radar until we figure things out. And for the record, she wants this to work out. She’s already invested, and sneaking around isn’t an option, because she’ll ferret everything out of me. Well, maybe noteverything,but the basics at least. And I won’t lie to her.”
“I wouldn’t want you to. While I’d love to keep talking, I’m going to let you go. I have a lot to think about, and I feel like you do, too. Let’s talk again in a few days, okay? And if you change your mind and decide trying to date me long-distance isn’t worth it, promise you’ll let me know?”
My chest clenches. “You’re worth it.”
“You think that now, but you might change your mind. And if so, that’s fine. I get it.”
“Okay, we’ll talk again in a few days. I’ll let you initiate the call, whenever you’re ready. Let me give you my number.”
