“I don’t know. Things with Mallory are complicated.”
“Things with anyone are complicated,” Brooke says.
“True, but Mal and I have a history.”
“You just have to ask yourself if the pain of your history is stronger than the beauty of your future,” Everest says. He reaches for one of his fries and takes a bite, as though he didn’t just give me the best fucking advice I’ve ever heard.
He’s right.
Fuck.
He’s totally, completely right.
Is the hurt in our shared past stronger than the love and beauty we could share in the future?
I don’t think so, and I think I know what I need to do.
“Consider this a request for one of your private rooms on Friday,” I tell Everest suddenly. The club has a number of private play spaces that people can use. There are themed rooms and normal rooms and anything you could possibly imagine, and I’ve got an idea.
“What?” He asks-.
“A room,” I say. “Not just any room. I want the playroom. Friday night.”
I drop a wad of cash on the table and grin.
“Lunch is on me. I’ve got a little to catch.”
I scurry out of the restaurant and don’t bother looking back to see what their faces look like. I’m sure they’re both shocked and a little surprised about the fact that I totally just took off, but I meant what I said.
Mallory is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I screwed things up between us in the past.
I’m not going to let that define me, though.
I’m not going to let that define us.
The future is bright for me and Mal.
The future is ours.
Chapter Thirteen
Mallory
“Dish,” Tabitha finds me on my lunch break Monday morning and demands information. “I want to know everything.” She slides into the seat next to me. The break room is empty, save for me and my turkey-and-cheese sandwich.
“What?” I ask innocently, blinking at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t be like that. Did you fuck him?”
I laugh and take a bite of my sandwich.
“No,” I say, shaking my head.
“Why not?” She asks.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“So you didn’t go to some guy’s house to fool around?”