Teri laughed. “Only you would think I’m in a predicament.”
“What would you call it?” she asked.
“A complete act of stupidity.”
“You better tell me the whole story,” Skylar said.
“You can’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.” She sat on the bench, crossing her legs and waiting.
“It’s Dane.”
“Wait, asshole Dane? You called him an asshole.”
“He is one. He’s a selfish prick, and everything I feel for him is irrelevant. I’m telling you the truth. I met him when I was twenty-one. That first ever party I was invited to. We had sex then, after we had both gotten very drunk. I didn’t know he was married then. He was just this sweet, charming guy, you know? Dangerous because he was a fighter and a biker, and I wanted him. I didn’t know he was married.”
Teri explained everything. How she made sure she had nothing to do with him when she found out he was married with kids. Dirty Fuckers moved around a lot in the early days, so she would go days, if not weeks or months, before she would see him. On one of the final times she saw him, before they trashed her old workplace, and asked her to move to Greater Falls, there was another big party. She got drunk, and they’d ended up in bed together. “I think I loved him, Skylar.”
“Oh, honey.”
“I know. Sucks, right? The one man I fall for is taken by another woman. Lucy’s a kind woman, and every time I looked at her, I know I failed her. I shouldn’t be here, Skylar. I shouldn’t be having a good time when she’s suffering.”
“Have you thought about telling her?” Skylar asked.
Teri paled, and whimpered. “So many times. I wanted to tell her, but what good would that do? I mean, I’ve always felt that if you tell someone else, it’s because you’re not big enough to keep that inside. I don’t want to hurt her. Nothing has happened for years, Skylar.”
She hugged her sister close, feeling Teri sobbing. “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. You’ve seen what he’s like. How can I love a man like that?”
“You can’t help who you love.”
Teri pulled away, wiping her eyes. “There you go: you know I’m not perfect.”
Skylar chuckled. “I knew you weren’t perfect a long time ago.” She cupped Teri’s face. She was worried for her. “Will you be okay?”
“Of course I will. This is why me and men will never mix well. There’s just too much heartache to come with it.” Teri waved her hand in front of her face. “Ignore me. Honestly, I don’t know what came over me.”
“You’re not going to tell Lucy?”
Teri shook her head. “It was my mistake. I won’t cause her anymore pain, you know. She’s moving in with Lewis and I’m going to be helping with that. Enough about me. What about you? How are things going with Leo and Paul?”
She knew her sister wanted to change the subject. “It’s going amazing. They are so wonderful. We, erm, we kissed.”
Her sister squealed. “Kissed?”
“It was a dare.” At Teri’s strange look, she explained. “We played truth or dare. I was dared to kiss Paul and then to kiss Leo, and … I enjoyed it.” She covered her cheeks at Teri’s chuckle.
“Do you want them?” Teri asked.
“I’ve thought about it, but you know that’s just never going to happen.”
“What makes you think it’s not going to happen?”
Skylar pointed at herself. “I’m not their type. I saw Stacey, and I’m nothing like her.”
“Thank God. They do not like Stacey, believe me. I think you need to give them the benefit of the doubt.” Teri tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Have you told them about what happened with Mom?”