“So I’m going to be honest with you right now, little flower. You need to talk to someone. You can talk to me, or you can talk to Aaron, or you can talk to a therapist, but this is a burden you don’t have to face alone, and you shouldn’t, okay?”
I nod, swallowing hard.
“We’re both here for you,” Hank says. “Anytime you need to talk or vent.”
I nod again, but I don’t say anything else.
I opened up, but somehow, I still feel just as sad and nervous as I did before because saying everything out loud made it feel real.
It feels real and tangible and tomorrow, I agreed to meet Aaron at fucking Chipotle to talk.
Shit.
I shouldn’t have said I’d go.
“What is it?” Taylor asks.
“I...I’m meeting Aaron for lunch tomorrow,” I tell him.
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me or Hank to come with you for moral support?” Taylor asks. “We can rearrange our schedules to help you out, Mallory. All you have to do is ask.”
My heart is warmed by the fact that they’re so willing to help me, but...
I think this is something I have to do alone.
“That’s okay,” I tell them carefully. “I can do it.”
Taylor nods, and then he reaches into a pocket I didn’t know he had, and he pulls out a business card. He presses it into my hand.
“This is my real name, phone number, and place of business,” he says. “If you need anything, you call me. Understood?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. I don’t look at the card here. I don’t want to out Taylor in front of anyone else. “I understand.”
“Good.” Taylor turns to Hank and motions that they’re going to leave. “We’re going home, Mallory. It’s been a long night. I suggest you do the same.”
“Okay,” I say. Somehow, it feels like all of the air has been sucked out of my body. I follow the two of them out to the parking lot, hug them both goodbye, and then go get in my car, but I sit there for a very, very long time.
I don’t know how I’m going to make it through tonight, much less tomorrow, but it looks like I don’t have much of a choice.
Chapter Six
Aaron
She walks into the restaurant exactly on time. Mallory is wearing a thin white sundress that’s covered in bright blue flowers. The straps of her bra are showing just a little bit, and she’s wearing a matching blue choker. Her hair is down and it looks wavier than ever, and she smiles brightly when she sees me.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that my heart skips a beat, even just a little, when I see her.
Mallory is fucking incredible.
Any man would be lucky to get to know her and me?
I get her for an entire lunch date. I really am the luckiest guy around. She comes into the restaurant and looks around. It’s busy already with the lunch crowd, and she glances at the table in front of me.
“You already ordered,” she says.