“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spat.
She wasn’t going to let him get away with brushing this off. But why she felt the need to push him when she knew it was a hopeless cause was something she couldn’t explain. Maybe she hoped that if he acknowledged why he was afraid of marriage he would change his mind. That maybe she could help him change his mind. “Do you think if you get married that she’ll die on you?”
Milton reacted to her question faster than she anticipated. “Not that she’ll die on me but that marrying me is a death sentence. There’s no other way to see it.”
“Oh, Milton. You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“We’re not getting into this. I’m leaving tomorrow, and I was hoping–”
“To fuck?”
“Christ, Amie. You don’t have to be so crude.”
“But I do. That’s who I am, remember? I’m the girl you slummed with for a couple of weeks to learn how to have a good time again.”
“What just happened?” Milton took a step forward, extending his hand to her, but Amie backed away from him quickly. “Two minutes ago I was getting the come-fuck-me eyes just as much as I was giving.”
“All this talk about being bound to one another. It makes me sick,” she spat. Those words hurt. Saying them caused her physical pain, a cramp in her stomach, because they weren’t true. “You’re not my type, remember?”
“Don’t worry,” he scoffed. “If I had forgotten I’d be reading you loud and clear.” He stepped toward her again, and this time she had nowhere to go. She backed into the wall and he crowded her space. “Is this how we’re going to spend our last night together? Fighting.”
“Our last night.” Amie couldn’t help the mocking tone of her voice. “Like it’s something so special. Why are we making this out to be more than it is? It’s just some good fucking.”
“I thought it was a little more special than that.” He cupped the side of her face in his hand. It took everything she had not to turn in and nuzzle his soft touch.
“What’s the point? You’re leaving. You don’t do relationships, and I hate everything you stand for. There’s nothing special about that.” Amie couldn’t even look him in the eye. If she did he would know she was lying.
It was easier this way. Why spend another night together knowing that when he left, he would be taking a piece of her with him? At least this way she could keep her heart intact. What was she thinking in the first place trying to make this special?
“I get the picture.” He backed away, leaving the air cold in his absence. “If you’re intent on it ending this way, there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”
He headed to the door. Amie’s body leapt, she physically leapt off the wall to run after him, tackle him and stop him from walking out the door, but her pride was too strong to push her the extra step.
Without him facing her, the tears easily appeared. Each blink releasing a heavy drop that streamed down her cheek.
With his hand on the door knob, Milton stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Not every man is like your father. Not every man demands obedience. Not every man will stifle you into trying to be something you’re not.”
Amie hugged her body, trying her best to cover herself. It wasn’t the lack of clothing that made her feel naked. It was the tears streaming down her face, the vulnerability that she exposed so easily with him.
She said nothing. Because he was right. He was that man. The lion she had been searching for and he was ready to walk out the door.
“You were right about my mother. And brother-in-law. Any woman I let into my life is delivered a death sentence. And I can’t be responsible for that. Not even for the woman I might be falling in love with.”
Amie hiccupped, the sobs pouring out of her body now. Her body heaved with pain as he closed the door behind him.
He wouldn’t even try. She was as healthy as a horse. But who was she to expect that Milton would change just for her?
Amie looked around her apartment. She was used to being alone, but never had she felt more alone than at this moment. Her one shot at true love had walked out the door, and there was no chance it would come around a second time.
Amie picked up her cellphone and dialed the number through blurry, tear-filled eyes. The voice on the other end was music to her ears. “Care, I need you.”
“Oh, sweetie. What happened?”
“Just come over. Bring Martina.”
Chapter 13
The string quartet played light and airy music as Amie walked down the aisle.