Oh, and give her peanut butter treats, so she won’t forget me.
Goodbye, Karl.
Love,
Lola
* * *
Fuck,Iggy. I sniff back the building tears before they escape. Why couldn’t you just say it? Why couldn’t you realize you loved me in time?
I take the letter to bed with me to sleep off the Vodka. Tomorrow morning, I’m getting on a plane.
Only before I get to, Roger shows up with Matt on his heels. Chase has already picked up Pixel, and I’m almost done getting ready to leave when they arrive.
“What’s going on?” I ask, surprised to see Roger.
“I need to show you something, and when I do, I need you to not freak out and do something stupid.”
“What are you talking about?”
Roger looks at the ceiling and takes a deep breath. “Don’t make me regret showing you, Karl,” he warns.
Then he hands me his phone, and I take it, my brow furrowed with confusion.
“What is this?” I ask as I stare at a somewhat blurry photo that was taken in some club. Two people are dancing in the frame, and it’s hard to make out the faces until I zoom in, and it’s Ethan.
My teeth grind together. I zoom out again, paying close attention to the rest of the photo, to the woman whose back is pressed against his chest, dancing. His hand is on her naked waist, revealed by a small strip of fabric that could hardly pass for a top.
She’s a brunette, all smiles and having fun, enjoying herself. It would mean nothing—except for those deep green eyes I’d know anywhere. I zoom in on her face this time, and as sure as my name is Karl Sommer, the woman dancing with Ethan, grinding her backside to him, is Lola Beltran.
“Fritz has the jet ready. He and Matt are going with you—”
“I don’t need babysitters,” I seethe.
“It’s them or me,” Roger says coolly, giving me the choice.
“Fine.” I push past him, and Matt and I head to the airport downtown.
How could she get back together with him after telling me she was falling in love with me?She thinks I don’t want her, I think, answering my own stupid question.
What did I tell Ethan that day at the grocery store? You leave a girl that beautiful alone that long, you can’t expect her to not be taken when you get back?
Only this time, I’m the idiot who pushed her away.
The thing is, we’re the same. Both of us so damaged we couldn’t believe we deserved the others’ love. But we did love.
Bothof us.
And it’s not too late. Not even if Ethan is back, because the minute I see him, I’m going to punch his pretty little white teeth out and reclaim what’s mine.
Because, make no mistake, Lola Beltran is, and always will be,mine.
36
LOLA
Fernanda, Ricardo, Mariela, and Elena are all staring at me, faces harsh. I’m sitting on a barstool, and it’s after closing. They said they had to talk to me, but the way they’re standing in front of me, severe expressions, afraid to speak, makes me think this is an intervention.