The Heartbreakers

5.

Truths And Reunions

Lenley

“LENLEY!”

Darrius’ brown eyes travel down my body as if he were trying to make sure that I’m really here and not just a figment of his imagination.

“You look ...” he pauses, looking me up and down again.

“Different, I know,” I provide.

He nods. “Yeah. Different. Grown up. Beautiful.”

I smile, feeling a rush of heat rise to my face. He thinks I’m beautiful. He never called me beautiful before. Cute, maybe. Or pretty, but never beautiful.

“You look good too,” I say a little breathlessly, looking at the white button down shirt with a couple of buttons open to show off his chest and the dark wash jeans that cover his long legs.

His dark hair is longer than I remember it, wavier and slightly tousled by the sea breeze that is blowing gently from the beach.

“I’m glad you’re back, Len,” he says. “I missed you.”

He sounds sincere and I sigh. “I missed you too, D,” I admit.

“Right. I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I’ve texted you a thousand times. Do you think we could talk?”

My heart rate skyrockets and I just nod, not trusting my voice right now.

“Let’s find a quieter place, where we won’t be interrupted.”

I follow him down the stairs that from the raised position of my house on the hill lead down to our stretch of private beach.

I’m feeling nervous as I take my high heels off and wiggle my toes into the cold sand. Last year we were just over two miles down this same beach when I thought he was about to kiss me and I ruined everything.

My dad was a risk taker and a pioneer in skydiving and suit flying. He was always exploring uncharted waters but he used to say that every time he did something, he tried to take with him what he learned from his past failures.

He was a big believer that the definition of insanity is repeating exactly the same actions that brought you to failure before and expecting a different outcome.

For a second, I wonder if this is what I’m about to do now. Putting my heart in Darrius’ hands after he broke it a year ago on this same beach.

But the situation has changed.

I’ve changed.

He isn’t with Lisa anymore; she even changed her status on all social media to “single.”

Darrius’ status is blank right now and I’d be lying if I said that I don’t hope that he’s been waiting for my return. To put things right between us.

“I’ve missed you, Len,” he says again.

I nod, but I don’t say anything, waiting him out.

“I thought about calling you a million times.”

The question leaves my lips before I can stop to think about it. “Why didn’t you?”

He puts his hands in his pockets, digging in the sand with his toes. “At first because I knew I hurt you and I wanted to give you time. Then because the longer I waited, the harder it was to reach out to you. That night I was a total asshole. I know we both had had a few, but I shouldn’t have blamed you for what almost happened. To be honest, I knew deep down that I kinda encouraged you.”

I still don’t say anything but I feel relieved that his flirting wasn’t just a product of my overactive imagination.

“If I have to be entirely honest,” he says, averting his gaze. “I had a huge fight with Lisa earlier that day. She wanted to go away for the weekend and I had told her that it was your birthday and I wanted to be around. She’d always been jealous of our friendship and when she gave me an ultimatum, about going away with her or breaking up, I asked you to the party as a test. I wanted to see if she really meant it.”

I don’t know if I should be pissed off because he used me. To be honest, I kinda am but it’s been a long time since that night. “She obviously didn’t.” I consider. “Since you broke up with her not that long ago.”

Darrius sighs. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Len. I know I was selfish and I should’ve talked to you from the start. I also shouldn’t have let you drink all that vodka.”

I giggle, hearing the laughter in his voice. “Well fuck, I was pretty hungover the day after. A transatlantic flight probably wasn’t the best idea after all. I was sick in the aircraft toilet pretty much every hour until I landed in Paris. But you’ll be happy to know that a year there made a difference. I learned how to drink.”

He chuckles. “I’ll have to be the judge of that sometime soon. But learning to drink isn’t the only thing that’s different about you, Len. I know I just said it when I saw you, but ... shit, you look beautiful. So grown up.”

He takes one of my hands in his, lifting it and looking at me as if he were about to make me twirl, his gaze taking me in again. “So, tell me. Did you leave anyone special in France?”

I shake my head. “No. Just Papà’s family. Mémère and my cousins.”

His smile widens. “I’m glad you’re back. I did miss you. I slept too late almost every day without your good morning texts and it was hard to get to sleep without saying good night to you.”

Our fingers are still twined together and he pulls me closer to his chest, hugging me and lifting my face closer to his to look into my eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you, Len. You know I’ve always loved you, right?”

My heart is about to leap out of my mouth under his intense gaze and all I can do is nod.

“There’s always been a part of me that wondered if there was more than just friendship between us.”

I nod again.

“When you tried to kiss me, that was so fucking confusing. I’ve always thought that you were pretty but I never looked at you that way. But now I know. Especially after seeing you again, all beautiful and grown up. There’s always going to be a part of me that will wonder if I’m making a mistake, but now I know that dating Kiara is the right choice.”

I almost nod again until my brain rewinds to the last five or six words he just said. “Dating Kiara?” I squeak. “My best friend Kiara?”