“Oh,” I say, shifting. “So you did long distance for over two years? Didn’t that suck?”
“Yeah, it did. I like alone time, so it wasn’t so bad, but yeah ... sometimes it sucked.”
“How often did you see her?”
“Maybe once every three months.”
Once. Every. Three. Months.
I can’t even wrap my head around that. An entire relationship based on phone conversations and text messages alone. I mean, don’t get me wrong, hats off to him for being able to do it, but how much can you truly know about a person after only living with them for such a short amount of time? There is no way he could have known the real person. It takes years to truly learn everything about someone.
“Wow,” I finally answer. “That sucks.”
“Yeah, it did.”
“So, did you see it coming, the break up?”
He shrugs and the pain on his face, God, I don’t know if he knows I can see it, but I can. And all I want to do is find this woman and kick her fair in the twat.
“Kind of,” he answers. “She got distant with the messages and calls. I knew something was up. I asked her one day if she was going to break up with me and she kind of just said, yeah, sorry.”
Yeah. Sorry.
Anger bubbles in my chest.
What kind of horrible person ...
“That’s really awful,” I say, trying not to let my disgust show.
“Yeah, it gets worse,” he says, drinking more of his beer. “She basically blocked me, as you know, but when she told me she was seeing someone else, she did it the day I went back to work. Not only that, I was about to start nightshift, so I was relying on sleep to get me through my shift at work.”
Oh, my god.
What a horrible, horrible human being.
“She told you she was seeing someone else, knowing you needed that sleep to work?”
He nods.
“And she did it ... over text message?”
“She does everything over text message,” he mutters. “I couldn’t even get a fuckin’ phone call. Imagine how hard it was to try and sleep after that. I was throwing back sleeping pills like there was no tomorrow.”
Seriously. That’s terrible.
My heart literally breaks for this man. He gave his entire heart and soul to a person that can’t even give him the common decency to call him and tell him that she has moved onto another man. That fact that she could even move onto another man so quickly makes me question her.
“You’re a woman, do you think she was seeing him before she left me?”
I glance at him, and God, the hope in his eyes makes me want to scream. I know what he wants me to say, he wants me to say no way would she do that, but the truth is, deep down, I don’t see that she could meet someone and move on in a matter of weeks after leaving someone, unless she was talking to that man before she left Roman.
“I’m not sure,” I say, opting with the easiest answer for both of us. “I don’t know her and the situation, but it sounds like she moved on fairly quickly.”
He nods and drinks more beer. “She’s so selfish. You know the worst part? When I first met her, I had a gut feeling. I felt like something wasn’t right. I ignored that feeling, and I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have.”
No.
You should never ignore your gut. Not ever. It is always, always right.
I had gut feelings towards Michael, too. If I had listened to those, I might not be suffering now, either.“Yeah, your gut usually always tells you what’s right and wrong.”
“Yeah,” he says, studying me. “How random is our meeting?”
I smile. “You know what’s funny? I was literally having the worst day of my life when I ran into you that day. I was so broken. So hurt. I didn’t think I could get through. When you asked if I wanted to be besties, I honestly thought it was crazy, but now I’m starting to think there is a reason we met.”
“Yeah,” he says, his voice low, “I was in a really bad place, too. I swear only a few days earlier I asked for something to come along and make it easier, and then you showed up.”
“Do you think we were meant to help each other?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I do.”
I grin.
He grins back.
I thought it was weird at first, but now it’s clear as day.
I just made a new Bestie.
CHAPTER 5
“What a dick!” Roman says, sitting so close to me our legs are touching.
“I know, right!” I mutter. “Dickface is a total dick. I swear, what a waste of my time. I hate that I love him. I really do. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“I can’t believe he said that stuff to you, worse, I can’t believe he can be so cold about it.”
“Yeah,” I huff. “And then we have the opposite end of the scale with your ex. You’re fighting so hard and she doesn’t give a crap. God, the things I’d do to have someone fight for me like that. I wish she could see how lucky she is.”
“She won’t,” he grunts. “Because she’s a selfish person.”
“Yep, so is he.”
“Maybe he should move near her, and they can be selfish together.”
I laugh. “Yeah, let’s see how that works out for them.”
“I still can’t believe he said you only wanted him for sex,” Roman says, grinning, showing that cute dimple in his cheek.
“I know. What man do you know complains about having a woman throw themselves at him?”
Roman shrugs. “Fucks me, but he’s an idiot. Sounds like he was the one doing the wrong thing and he’s just shifting the blame to you.”
“Yeah, well, fuck him.”
“Fuck him,” he agrees.
“Fuck them both.”
“Yeah.” He raises his glass and we clink beers. “Fuck them both.”
We both burst out laughing again, and it feels good. The ache in my chest eases a little more with every passing second. The pain in his eyes shifts, and the smile on his face is genuine. If I was ever made to do something, I think it was to help Roman. Or maybe it was him who was supposed to help me. Hell, maybe we were just meant to help each other.
“So, you have any siblings?” he asks.
I nod, running my finger over the condensation on the beer. “Yeah, a sister. She’s great. What about you?”