Shaking my head, I turn to look away from him when I say, “It’s over. They threw me out, told me not to come back or call.” When I turn to look back at him, the look in his eyes is of disbelief. “I wasn’t completely surprised. I knew that would most likely be their reaction.”

“Then why?”

“I hoped it would help me come to terms with all of this.”

“Did it?”

“Honestly . . . I don’t know, but at least I’m able to tell you everything I was too scared to say before.”

We stand there without speaking when the mist turns into thicker sprinkles, but we don’t move. I wish I knew what he was thinking. I’m feeling anxious and extremely exposed right now. But he gives me a little hope when he turns to face me and asks, “So what do you want now?”

“I know I don’t have any right to ask you to forgive me, but I feel like absolute shit for what I did, and I’m so sorry.” I swallow hard when I admit, “I really like you, Mark. I just want a chance to show you that I’m not an asshole.”

“I know you’re not an ass, but you really let me down. I’m not sure I can trust you.”

“Let me show you that you can,” I say, and I know with those words that I can’t let my fears get in the way again. I need to face this. I need to learn to be okay with myself.

When I see him nod his head, I can’t fight my smile. I want to kiss him. God, I want to kiss him so bad, but I don’t. I just wrap my arms around him and pull him in for a hug. When I feel his arms band around me, I say once again, “I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”

“No more apologies. Let’s just start over.”

He leans back slightly, and I don’t take what I want to take. I want him to know that I want something more than just that. So, I simply leave it with, “Coffee? Tomorrow?”

He smiles and responds, “Sounds good. I’ll call you when I wake up.”

I nod my head and take a step back when Mark opens his door and hops in the driver’s seat. Before he closes the door, he says, “Jase . . . thanks for being honest with me.”

“Thanks for giving me the chance.”

Mark called this morning like he said he would. I suggested we meet at Peet’s on the ground floor of my apartment building. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still anxious about all of this, but the feeling of not wanting to walk away from Mark is stronger than my fear of defining who I am to myself.

I shrug on a t-shirt and grab my keys before making my way to the elevator. I arrive before he does, so I go ahead and get a coffee before finding a seat by the window to wait for him. It’s raining pretty hard today, and I watch as it falls from the dark sky.

I pull my phone out and shoot Candace a text. I really need to talk to her about everything that’s been going on.

Can I see you later?

I sit for a while and drink my coffee before my phone buzzes with her response.

Yeah, I’ll be home.

Okay, I’ll text you in a bit. Love you.

“Hey, man,” I hear Mark say, and I shove my phone in my pocket as I stand up to give him a hug. I’ll take all the touches I can from this guy.

Seeing his coffee already in hand, we sit down and he says, “How’s it going?”

“Good. You?” I ask as he nods his head and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table.

“I was thinking about what you said last night. About your parents and all.”

I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are they all the family you have?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t been close for a long time. It’s not like we really ever spoke.”

He takes a long sip of his drink and sets his cup down. “So what are you gonna do?”

“There’s nothing I can do. It’s done with. They were pretty final with what they said. I know them well enough to know when they shut down, they don’t open back up.”

He shakes his head, and I know this bothers him. So I assure him, “I’m not alone, if that’s what you’re wondering. I have a really close friend that I’ve always considered my family.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Actually, I should probably talk to you about her.” I need to explain our relationship to him because I know it isn’t typical. He needs to know how we are, and I need to know if this bothers him.

“Okay? You’re making me nervous,” he says with a chuckle.

“No, it’s nothing crazy, we just have a strong relationship, and I want you to understand that it’s nothing beyond friends.”

“What do you mean?”

Leaning back in my seat, I tell him, “We’re really close. I mean, we’re physically close as well. It’s just always been that way with us. Her name’s Candace. She’s a sweet girl, but in many ways, extremely closed off. Her parents are dicks to her. But, anyway, I just need you to know that we spend a lot of time together . . . we spend a lot of nights together in each other’s beds. But it isn’t like what most people would assume at all. She’s just a friend . . . well, family really. She’s all I’ve had for a long time.”

He nods his head, but doesn’t say anything at first. I worry that he might not be okay with this, but when he says, “I think it’s good that you have someone like that in your life,” I relax a little bit.

“Are you sure you don’t have a problem with it?”

“Look, I don’t know much about you, but I hate that you don’t have a family that supports you,” he says, and I know his words are genuine. “So, if this girl can give you what you can’t find from anyone else, then yeah, I can be okay with it.”

Curious about his family, I ask, “So how did your parents react when you told them?”

“They took it pretty well. I didn’t tell them for what felt like a long time. I was terrified they’d react badly. I was scared shitless, to be honest. But it worked out. My parents have never treated me differently from the way they always have. They love me regardless . . . it really bothers me that you didn’t get that.”

I can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, wishing that I had what he has. How easy it must be, but in a way, he’s right. Although I have Candace, I still feel very much alone.

“Well, since I can’t introduce you to my family, you want to try and get together with me and meet Candace and her roommate, Kimber? They are pretty much who I spend most of my time with.”

He smiles, big, and it’s perfect. “I’d love to.”

I smile back and can’t really understand why he’s being so nice after what I did, but I’ll take whatever he gives me, and right now, it’s more than I deserve. “Okay. I’m going to see Candace later today, so I’ll find out when she’s free. Sometime this weekend?”

“Yeah, I have nothing going on. Just planning on taking it easy before classes start back up on Monday.”

When we finish our coffee, I look over at him and ask, “You wanna come over to my place for a while?”

“Yeah, where do you live?”

I laugh as I say, “Right here. I live in this building.”

“That’s convenient,” he says with a knowing smirk as we head out.

When we get off the elevator and head into my apartment, we make ourselves comfortable on the couch and flip on the TV, although we don’t watch it because it doesn’t take but a second for Mark to distract me. He reaches over and threads his fingers with mine. Staring at me with his deep green eyes, I slowly move in and brush my lips against his. I tug him in closer to me and press my lips more firmly onto his. He didn’t shave this morning, and the roughness of his kisses do nothing but turn me on. I hate that I had to hurt him to be able to be with him like this. I should have just been honest. I should have trusted him. Pushing those thoughts away, wanting to be here with him and not in my scattered head, I loop my arms around his waist and pull him down on top of me as I lie on my back.