She’s so fucking adorable and still so much like her old self. Just thinking about how concerned she was about the way she looked makes me smile. Savannah could be wearing a muumuu and clown makeup, and I’d think she was the sexiest woman on the planet.
I glance down at my phone as I’m walking through the lobby, and when I look up, I’m almost certain I see Veronica with her long hair pulled up into a bun walking down another hall. I only catch a glimpse of her from behind, but I shake it off. My subconscious is probably feeling guilty for ditching her last night. I make a mental note to call her later and apologize, just to be courteous, though the way she treated Savannah, I’m not sure she deserves it.
When I step outside the hotel, the warm breeze brushes over my skin. I have valet pull my truck around so I can drive home and change out of this suit. Once it’s in front of me, I climb inside, and that’s when I start second-guessing myself.
Was it a mistake to ask her to lunch? Regardless, I had to put myself out there because we have things to discuss, like her admission of lying to me. My heart aches when I think about how much she broke me and how devastated I was to lose her. I was nothing more than a skeleton of a man when I received the text that she was breaking things off. She’d met someone else and felt it was time for us to both move on with our lives instead of carry on a long-distance relationship. She was in love with whatever the fuck she said his name was and I was just a ghost of her past. At first, I thought it was a sick joke, but she was so adamant about how she’d moved on to the point where she blocked my number and ignored my every attempt to contact her.
Destroyed doesn’t quite describe the way I felt. The woman I’d loved with each inch of my being, the woman who I imagined I’d spend the rest of my life with, left me as if I’d never meant anything to her at all.
On my way home, I think about the last time I went into Pete’s Burgers. It was right after graduation and before she moved to New York. It was always our favorite spot to visit during high school. We were regulars because it was cheap and had the best damn patty melts in California. After we’d eat, Savannah would always order a strawberry milkshake and eat the cherry first.
I stare out at the road and reminisce about how beautiful she looked last night. I swallow hard, wishing eighteen-year-old me would’ve fought for her, that eighteen-year-old me wouldn’t have accepted her bullshit.
Soon I’m pulling up to my house and notice Hunter’s vehicle is still here. After I unlock the door and walk in, I see he’s sleeping on the couch fully dressed; even has his shoes on.
“What the hell?” I mutter with a chuckle. He sits up and rubs his hand over his face.
“Oh good, you’re home. Finally,” he remarks sarcastically, gazing his eyes up and down my body.
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “Last time I checked, you weren’t Dad. Pretty sure I don’t have a curfew anymore.”
I immediately regret my choice of words. Hunter stiffens at the mention of our father then stands. Neither of us has a good relationship with our dad, and nothing will ever change that at this point.
“So did ya finally get her out of your system?” Hunter stretches then grabs his keys off the counter.
“Nothing happened. I told you it wouldn’t.” I shrug. “But I did ask her to go to lunch with me.” I walk to the kitchen and he follows behind me.
“I’m not dealing with this again, Hayden.” Hunter’s stance stiffens, and his mouth is in a firm line. “Enough is enough.”
I let out a huff and grab a bottle of water because I’m so damn thirsty. “Whatever you say.”
“Do you know what Veronica told me last night?” Hunter asks, crossing his arms over his chest and when I don’t respond, he continues, “That she’s in love with you. Just because a blast from the past popped up doesn’t mean you have to run back to it. Savannah’s just going to hurt you again. Nothing good will come out of this other than two old fuck buddies getting back together for one last go round.”
I turn and scowl at him. He knows we were much more than fuck buddies, but I also know what he witnessed after the breakup and how much it affected us both. “I don’t give two shits about Veronica. You already know how I feel about her. The feelings are definitely not mutual.”