She shook her head. “I don’t want to do long-distance. I want you, not some cold carbon copy of you on my phone.”
“You can have me.” He forced a smile. “You do have me. But we need to stick to the plan. You go try out the job, and see how you like it. Give life in a small town an honest chance, with us as a long-distance couple. If you still feel that way, like you want to come back and be here with me…then come back. But do it for you, not me. You can’t just walk away from this opportunity. Not for me.”
“It’s not for you. It’s for me.”
He continued on, ignoring her. “After you go, we’ll talk every day, and—”
“It’s not enough. I want you beside me, making me laugh.” She ran her finger over his knuckles. “You showed me what it’s like to have someone by my side who is fair and funny. You showed me how great life can be with the right person. I love you, and all I’m asking is for you to maybe love me back someday. For that opportunity. Please. I love you—”
“Don’t say that again.” He dropped her hands and stepped back. That little bit of extra distance between them said more than any words he might have said instead, and so did the way he let go of her—like he was letting go forever. “You’re going to Texas, and I’m going to wave as you drive away, as promised, and that’s that. If you don’t want to try long-distance, then fine. We won’t do it. This will be good-bye. But you’re still going.”
She stiffened, anger finally taking over the pain trying to rip her in half. “You can’t tell me what to do. If I want to stay, I’ll stay. You can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do.”
“Fine. You’re right.” He lifted his jaw, swallowing so hard she saw his Adam’s apple bob. “Let me rephrase that, then. If you want to stay, then stay. But it won’t be for me, and you won’t be with me…because I don’t want you to stay. If you stay, we’re done.”
Unable to hide that ache his words caused, she flinched, pressing a hand to her heart as if that would ease the pain. It didn’t. Nothing would. “You…you don’t want me to stay?”
There was a slight hesitance, and that hesitance gave her a small bubble of hope, but he slammed it down immediately with a cold, “No. I don’t want to be with you.”
But…no.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not after he begged her to give him a chance. Not after he crashed his way through her defenses with his charming smile, his soft words, and his seductive touch.
“You literally just said we could do long-distance, and now you’re saying you don’t want to be with me at all? What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”
He shrugged. “It was an empty offer, Shel. You were supposed to take it and go to your new job like you wanted. That’s all.”
She hopped off the counter and took a step toward him. He took another back, keeping the distance between them. It hurt more than his words did. “Eric.”
He crossed his arms, and it was like he lowered a shield over himself, directly over his heart. In front of her eyes, she saw the old Eric come back, the one she hadn’t cared much for, and that’s when she knew it was over.
They were over.
He took yet another step back toward the door.
Toward the exit. Toward freedom.
“Look, it’s been fun. It really has. But this whole long-distance thing…” He fisted his hands and shrugged a shoulder. “I was just trying to let you down easily. Everyone knows long-distance doesn’t work. It was an empty offer of something neither of us really wants—a relationship.”
She swallowed, shock rocking her hard. “You’re being serious right now.”
It wasn’t a question.
He answered anyway.
“Completely.” He smirked. “I mean, I told you all along I didn’t do relationships. That this was perfect for us because I didn’t want forever from you, and you were leaving. That’s the only reason I stuck around. Because we had an automatic expiration date. Why would you think I would change my mind about that? Why would you make the same mistake with me that you did with George? Why would you want to give up everything for another guy?”
He was right. He was absolutely right.
This was all her fault.
She’d taken the way she felt about him and somehow projected it on to him until she thought he felt the same things as her. She’d conjured up this image of a man who didn’t want her to go. And even worse? She’d let that image get into her head. Her thoughts. Her heart.
All it had taken was a few nights in bed with Eric, and she’d been ready to give up everything. She was no smarter now than she’d been when she chased after George.
She was weak.