Desperate Choices by Kathy Ivan

Author:Kathy Ivan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2010-10-26T04:00:00+00:00

***

The truck driver gave Max and Theresa a ride back to town. Brad met them at the service station where they’d been towed, and gave them a loaner car along with directions to a quiet, clean motel.

Hungry and slightly nervous at the idea of spending the night alone with Max, Theresa was grateful for a short reprieve. The burger joint beside the motel offered a welcome delay.

Knowing the coming night could see them together, Theresa decided to broach a subject they had long avoided. Nine months earlier, their friendship and the rocky start of their budding romance had ended, destroyed by hurtful words said in anger and misunderstanding. The damage caused that night lingered unspoken between them.

Theresa knew the open wound of their failed relationship would continue to fester if they didn’t confront the past, and like a cancer would eat away at whatever tenuous steps they took by working together. She decided to deal with all the old hurts first. Treat it like a bandage, she thought. Better to pull it off fast rather than prolong the pain.

“I need to ask you something. About what happened nine months ago.” She watched him stiffen, his rigid posture the only indication he’d heard her.

“Yeah.” He set his burger down and swallowed, hard. “I’m sorry about what happened. Really. I need to apologize. I should have apologized the next day—hell, I should have apologized when it happened, but… I guess I was ashamed.” His gaze met hers, his eyes hot. She knew he was remembering the night in question.

“It was my fault as much as yours. I encouraged you. You weren’t ready to hear how I felt about you, how much I cared. If anybody’s to blame, it’s me.”

“Don’t try to pull that with me, Theresa. I’m fully aware of where the blame lies. Things went way too far, too fast that night. I wasn’t looking for a commitment. I took advantage of your feelings for me.” He paused, confirming what she always suspected. He felt guilty about what they’d almost done, for his actions, but more for what was said afterward.

“I wanted you, Max. I invited you in, if you remember. You didn’t know what had happened to me.” Pausing briefly, she continued in a rush of words. “I told you I loved you.” Heat rushed into her cheeks as she thought back at how bluntly she’d spoken that night. She’d been rash and foolish. She had loved him so much, still did, but she knew he hadn’t been ready to hear those words.

“I’m the one who pushed things. We’d only gone out a couple of times. Up till then, we were friends.” She reached across the worn restaurant table and grasped his hand firmly. “I miss that friendship. I never realized how important it was to me, until it was gone.”

“That’s the point,” Max insisted. “I’m the one who walked away. I’m the one who made you feel like a whore. You didn’t deserve that.”

“You flat out told me you thought I was some kind of cock-tease, who’d led you on to the breaking point.

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