Blitz: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy (Blast Brothers Book 3), стр. 60
I was still trying to think of the right way to say it when Chase asked, "Wondering what?"
"Well…how do we go about correcting that?"
He shook his head. "Correcting what?"
Did I seriously need to spell it out? But judging from his expression, I obviously did. "The story of us being together, you know, like a couple. It was a lie, or a joke, or whatever. And I'm not complaining, honest. But I am asking, how do we go about correcting it? Like, should we say we were just teasing? Or say we broke up, or—"
Chase cut me off. "Who says it has to be a lie?"
I blinked. Wait, what?
Chapter 53
Chase
Holy hell.
I meant it.
The realization hit hard and heavy, like a sucker punch to the gut.
But it didn't hurt. The only thing that hurt was the thought of Mina moving away.
Whether to another city or to another state, it was too far for my liking. Here in my condo, we hadn't moved from the entryway, and Mina was still blinking up at me in apparent surprise. "Um…come again?"
She might not realize it, but I was just as surprised as she was. But unlike her, I knew exactly what I wanted. I said it again. "Who says it has to be a lie?"
"But…" She bit her lip. "It was a lie."
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be."
"So what are you saying?" She gave a shaky laugh. "You want to go steady?"
I stared deep into her eyes and told her the God's honest truth. "Mina, I'm not joking."
"Wait, so you're saying, you weren't acting earlier with Ginger and Emory? I mean, when you pretended to be my boyfriend?"
"I don’t know what I was doing," I said. "But I do know I didn't like them messing with you."
She tried for another laugh. "Well, if you didn't like it, imagine how I felt."
Mina was a nice person. So yeah, it was easy to imagine how she felt. But there was no way she could ever fathom how I felt.
And why?
It was because I wasn't nice.
And if the people hassling her were a couple of guys instead of those two women, my "rescue," as she'd put it, would've played out a lot differently.
But she didn't need to know that, did she?
I reached out took her hand in mine. "Listen, I like you, probably more than I've liked anyone." I gave her fingers a tender squeeze. "And I know you like me, too."
"Yeah, but…" She shook her head. "That really doesn't matter."
"Why not?"
"Because…" She paused. "Well, do you want the truth?"
"Sure, hit me."
"Well…I guess I'm not into the whole open-relationship thing."
What the hell? The thought of Mina with another guy – well, I didn't like it. "And who says I am?"
Again, she hesitated. "Well…I'm just saying, I know you like to play the field."
I released her hand. "And you know this how?"
"Oh, come on, Chase. I don't want to be rude or anything, but everyone knows that you're not a one-girl kind of guy."
I felt my jaw clench. "I'm no Bryce, if that's what you think."
"I never said you were."
"The hell you didn't."
"No. I truly didn't. Just listen, okay? With Bryce, I had no idea he was like that. But with you, I already know, so it's different. See?"
"No."
"I just mean, today was really nice…"
I gave her a look. "Nice."
"Yes. Really nice. But I don't want to be an idiot."
What the hell was she saying? "You're not."
"I know. And I want to keep it that way. I just mean, I don't want to think we have one thing and then be surprised to learn we have another."
"So what are saying?" I stared down at her. "That today was a one-time deal?" Shit.Talk about a role-reversal.
The irony was a real kick to the groin.
Mina hesitated. "Well, I thought it was a one-time thing."
"And now?"
"I don't know."
"Alright." Working hard to keep my cool, I asked, "So how do you see this playing out?"
"I have no idea. I just know I don't want to get a nasty surprise down the road."
A surprise – like me fucking her friend in another state.
So that's who she thought I was?
If so, I didn't like it. "Except with me, it wouldn’t be a surprise. That's what you're saying?"
"Well, if it happened now, it wouldn't be a surprise. But let's say we're together a month or two. And then it happens. I would be surprised, and that's the problem, because by then, I'd be emotionally attached."
The more she talked, the less I liked what I was hearing. "And you're not now."
She sighed. "I don't know."
I studied her face. "You do know life has no guarantees, right?"
"Of course I know," she said. "I’m just thinking of the odds. That's all."
"The odds of what? Me cheating? That's what you're telling me?"
"Just let me ask you this," she said. "Have you ever been loyal? I mean, to any other girl?"
I refused to lie. "No."
"See?"
"Because I haven't been exclusive before."
Her brow wrinkled in apparent confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Take Angelique," I said. "She wasn't my girlfriend."
Mina gave me a skeptical look. "Did she know that?"
"Hell yeah, she knew." I flicked my head toward the guest room. "You wanna know why I have a closetful of her clothes?"
"Why?"
"Because she kept having her stuff delivered to my place. Dresses, undergarments, you name it. And I told her straight-up, it wasn't gonna happen."
Mina glanced toward the guest room. "That what wasn't going to happen?"
"That she wasn't moving in, no matter what ended up in my closets."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything," Mina said. "You can still be exclusive without living together."
"Sure. Except we weren't exclusive. And I never lied to her."
Mina gave me another skeptical look. "Really? What about a lie by omission?"
"What do you mean?"
"I just mean, did you ever say, 'Hey, Angelique, I'm not your boyfriend, and just so you know in advance, I'm