He Belongs With Me (23 page)

“I better go,” I told Leo. “He's going to harass me until I change my hair.”

He gave me the cutest frown, one that made my insides flip-flop. “I like the purple.”

“Me too. But you know how it is, all about appearances around here…”

“Oh, believe me, I know.”

Yes, if anyone knew what it was like, it would be Leo. And here was something else I’d never really considered—just how much we really had in common. How could I have been so blind to what was right in front of me? This was all just too much to take in at once.

“Well, if you want, you can come over to my place after…I'll be around,” he said, sounding uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

I nodded, gave him a quick peck on his very tempting lips, and then hurried for the garage.

IT TURNS OUT THAT GOING back to blonde wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. My hair needed bleaching, toning, and then had to be dyed once again, so it wasn't a quick-fix sort of process. I let Ed figure it out while I sat there and tried to relax, except the synapses in my brain were working double time and my head felt like it was on fire.

I'd already decided that I would most definitely be going over to Leo's house after my hair was finished. How could I say no to him after his sweet-as-hell confession of love? I'd have to be a moron to ignore that. As for my virginity...well, that was getting thrown the hell out the window tonight.

“Holy shitballs!”

“Does it burn your scalp?” Ed asked, jolting in surprise. He'd only just started working the medium-blonde dye into my hair.

“No, sorry. I was just thinking out loud.” I dug into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and quickly dialed Steph. I needed some serious support and no one gave better advice than Steph.

Thankfully, she picked up after a couple of rings. “Don't panic,” were the first words out of her mouth. “Just breathe.”
Okay, freaky—she knew me way too well.

“I'm not panicking,” I whined. “Okay, that's a lie. I'm totally panicking! Leo told me he loved me. He told me he's always been in love with me. And get this! He told me he hasn't dated anyone in the last two and a half years. That's crazy, right? I hated his guts and secretly he's been waiting around for me. Who does that?”

“Aw,” Ed cooed, butting into my conversation. “That's the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. Leo Maddox loved you and even though you didn't love him back, he still waited for you. I knew I liked that boy.”

“Where are you?” Steph demanded. “Who said that?”

I ignored Ed and answered Steph. “Getting my hair dyed back to blonde—Dad’s orders. That's the nosy hairdresser talking.” I playfully stuck my tongue out at Ed. He'd been doing my hair for years and I knew he was harmless.

“I already knew Leo loved you,” Steph confessed. “So tell me something I don’t already know.”

I sucked in a breath. “What do you mean you already knew? I didn’t know so how could you know?”

“Nothing too specific, just a feeling. Like the fact that he was super worried when you took off by yourself from the Alligator Lounge that night. He didn't like you walking around the streets of Brooklyn—alone and in the dark. Which I totally get, even though my neighborhood is pretty safe. I guess you can't be too careful though, and I had to practically tackle Leo to keep him in the bar. That's why I kept texting you on your walk home. Leo kept making me ask you for status updates. He wouldn't let it go until he knew you were home safe.”

“Oh.” My heart warmed. “You could have let him go after me.”

She huffed into the phone. “You always get so weird about guys. I thought if he chased you, then you'd freak out like you always do. Guys push and you shut down—it’s how you operate. I didn't want you to do the same thing with Leo just because he was worried about you. Do you even realize how picky you are?”

“I'm not picky,” I declared. “Only the weirdos like me.”

“I call bullshit! Decent guys are always asking you out. And you always freak out, one way or the other.” Steph started talking in a high-pitched voice, doing her best impression of me. “This guy's too short. This guy talks too much. This guy's way too nice. Your standards are sky high and I never understood it—until now. You know what you were really saying all those times you were being freakishly picky? You were really saying 'this guy isn't Leo.’”

Reality sliced through me like a sharp knife.

The last few days I'd been so focused on peeling back Leo's layers, I’d never considered my own. Why
was
I so damn picky? I’d barely dated and when I did, it never ended well. Actually, I never gave anything an opportunity to end good or bad because I always ended relationships before they started. Was it all because of Leo?

“I have to go, Steph. I have to go see Leo.”

“Finally!”

“Thanks, I'll call you tomorrow.”

I wasn’t off the phone a second before Ed butted in again. “So you and Leo, huh?”

I nodded. “Are you going to tell me how you always thought he’d end up with Maggie?”

“Nope, I certainly won’t. That boy needs some light and you, my dear, are pure sunshine.”

“Okay,” I responded, not sure what else to say. Ed continued on with my hair, gossiping about locals I had zero interest in but providing a desperately needed distraction. When everything was said and done and my hair was back to its natural blonde color, I left for Leo's house, knowing full well that I was about to hand over my V-card to the last person I ever thought I’d give it to.

CHAPTER 21

MAGGIE

With my heart racing, I crept the short distance from my room, across the hallway, and into Robby's bedroom. Like every other night, Robby stood waiting for me on the other side of his door. His golden eyes were soft and warm, and his perfect smile reached his eyes as I entered the room. In an instant, he scooped me into his lengthy arms and hugged me hard.

“Hi there, beautiful,” he whispered and carried me toward his bed. “What took you so long?”

“I was waiting for Dad's light to go out. Took him forever tonight.”

Robby laid me down and joined me under the covers. His gentle fingers rubbed over the fabric of my pajamas and he grabbed me, pulling me close against him. We'd been spending the night together like this—snuggling and kissing—every night now for almost a month. We'd been extra careful not to get caught and had purposely kept our relationship a secret. Well, Leo knew. But he wasn't going to tell anyone. If we told people, then surely Dad would be stricter about our sleeping arrangements—probably put a lock on my door or something silly like that—and I didn't want these sleepovers to end. So during the day, Robby and I spent very little time together. But at night...well, I lived for these nights. I was the happiest I had ever been.

Robby tilted my chin up toward him. He always did that when he wanted me to look at him or if he wanted to kiss me. Right now, he wanted to kiss me—and he did. We kissed and kissed and made up for all the lost time during the day.

“You know,” Robby said a few minutes later. “I heard my mom and your dad fighting again. He thinks she's seeing someone else and he's probably right. It's been three months and that's the longest she's ever stayed with one man. My gut tells me we don't have much time left. Maybe only another week or so.”

I swallowed hard, willing myself not to cry. I knew Robby was right. I knew Dad and Monica's relationship wouldn't last much longer. What I didn't know was what would happen to my relationship with Robby when Dad's ended.

“I hate talking about this,” I said.

“Me too, but we need to.”

“I don't want this to end—ever. I love you.” There, I said it. And my heart lodged itself up in my throat as I did. I'd never said those three little words out loud, mostly because I feared that my feelings were stronger than Robby's. He was two years older than me and more mature. What if he thought I was some lovesick little child? What if thought there was more to this relationship than he did? Oh God, help me. What had I just said?

But instead of laughing at me or denying me or ignoring those words, I felt Robby smiling against me. “Really? You love me?”

Heat burned across my cheeks. “Yes.”

“I love you too.” He grabbed me tighter, his lips connecting with mine. Then he brushed his tongue gently against mine before saying the words over and over against my mouth, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

I giggled, my heart expanding inside my chest so much that it almost hurt. He was perfect. This moment was perfect. And I never wanted it to end. Ever.

“Sorry, I should have said it first because honestly, it's all I've been thinking about the last couple of days. And I promise, no matter what happens with our parents, I'm going to keep on loving you forever. I mean that, Maggie. You're
my everything—my whole world. If Mom takes me away, then I'll come back. First chance I get, I'll be right back here with you. I promise. Nothing could stop me from loving you.”

Thinking about the past made me almost as breathless as if it had happened yesterday. Even after all this time, Robby's last words to me still made my heart beat a little faster when I thought of them. He and I never had sex, but after confessing our love to one another, we almost went all the way—almost. But I'd been wrong about my Dad being asleep that night, and he had walked in on us before we took things too far. Not that it mattered so much these days. Both of us had moved on, right?

As for Robby's promises...well, I’d held onto them for dear life for the next few months. But as time went by and I never heard from him, it became more difficult to believe they were true. When a year passed without even a phone call, I let go of all hope. I couldn't keep believing he'd come back into my life or it was going to destroy me. I somehow managed to move on, eventually meeting Andrew. Even though things obviously went south, I learned that it was possible to move on. I chalked up the “relationship” I had with Robby as something I’d built up in my young and naïve mind.

So...

Why was I now sitting in my car, parked outside Robby's apartment complex, more nervous than ever before? Finding out that Valerie might be my sister certainly threw me for a loop, and I told myself she was the reason I drove all the way over to his place, but I'm not sure I even believed myself.

Taking the key from the ignition, I left my car and slowly walked toward the breezeway that led inside Robby's apartment complex. Inside the breezeway there were four doors. One had to be Robby's, but since these doors weren't visible from the street, I didn't know which was his. And honestly, I hadn't been paying much attention the night of the gala. I guess he had my full attention now. Trying to decide which door I wanted to knock on first felt like playing Russian roulette. Fortunately, one of the doors opened and the game was over before it began.

Slow breaths. Slow breaths. Slow breaths.
Robby looked just as handsome as ever standing there, filling up the doorway to his place. He wore that same cut-off sweatshirt—the one that showed off his muscles—and I fought the urge to reach out and touch his perfect arms. No one's arms should look that good. Leo was gorgeous in his own right, but there was just something special about Robby. “Hi,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Hi, Maggie.” He gave me one of his smiles—the kind that could make nuns drop their panties—and opened the door wide for me. “Come on in.”

With my nerves on fire and my knees trembling, I moved past him and into his place. I was careful not to touch him as we lingered for a moment in the very narrow entrance hall. I dared a glance around and found that the inside of his place was modest but clean, a contrast to the apartment’s exterior. There was a kitchen, an area that held a four-person table, and a small living room. Valerie sat on the couch in the living room. She jumped to her feet when she spotted me and raced over. I tensed as her little arms engulfed me. Then, without a single word, she dropped her arms and hurried back over to the couch.

“She's a TV addict,” Robby explained. He moved into the kitchen and started piling what looked like leftover chicken casserole onto a plate before heating the food in his microwave. “Are you hungry? I saw you waiting out in your car...so, I left some for you. My cooking isn't your father's, but I promise it's edible.”

How embarrassing
. “You saw me waiting?”

“Yes, and I'm glad you decided to finally come in. I was about to come out and get you.”

I nodded, growing more nervous by the second. “Dinner would be nice. I didn't really eat much at my Dad’s during dinner.”

We both sat down at his table, and he watched as I ate the chicken casserole. It was pretty delicious—actually, one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I rarely had “comfort foods,” and this was comfort food at its best. When I finished, he took my plate to rinse it before returning to sit across from me. “Fifteen minutes, sweetie,” he yelled to Valerie in the living room, “then bedtime.”

“Okay, Daddy,” her little voice replied.

Turning back to me, Robby finally addressed the giant elephant in the kitchen. He spoke low enough so that Valerie couldn't hear him, saying, “You're here because you want answers and I will tell you everything. I just want you to know, before we relive the past, that I never wanted to hurt you, Maggie. I mean that.”

But he had hurt me. He'd hurt me more than anyone or anything in my life. Good intentions and reality were two very different things. I was starting to believe that Robby might have sacrificed his chance to come back to me because he'd been busy raising his sister, but that still didn't explain why he'd never once called in six years. Except instead of asking the hard questions, I went for an easy one first. “Why were you at Leo's this morning?”

“Leo and I used to be friends once,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Leo doesn't really make friends.”

“No, we were friends. You and I spent too much time pretending we weren't a couple—which was a mistake, by the way, we never should have hid our relationship—that I actually had tons of time to bond with Leo. As crazy as that sounds.”