cake…”
Ten
Carson
It took me a second to process what happened, the drastic turn the evening took. We’d swerved off the road, and it all happened so quickly that I couldn’t believe we were pinned against a tree off the side of the road.
It was so traumatic my brain froze.
The waitress came over and placed four slices of cake in front of us.
But we were all quiet.
Charlie stared at me, his expression saying everything his mouth didn’t.
Matt was normally talkative, but he was speechless too, like he didn’t have a single thing to say. There was cake in front of him, but he ignored it, which was saying something for Matt.
Charlie sighed. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Let’s not do this—”
“We have to do this. Because you’re being a goddamn idiot right now.”
“I’m not ready—”
“Then tell him you need more time. But don’t lose him altogether. He’ll wait for you.”
“I’m such a mess right now. I don’t want to ask him to wait for something that may not even happen, you know?”
He dragged his hand down his face. “You really don’t trust the guy?”
“It’s not that—”
“So, you do trust him?”
“I didn’t say that either. I just think neither one of us is ready—”
“It doesn’t seem like he cares about that, Carson.” Charlie stared me down. “He wants to try to make this work, in any way that he can. You’ve been spending time together as friends for a month now, and you’ve gotten to know him even better. I think there are no secrets at this point.”
I knew he was going to scream at me until he got his way. “Look, I really like him. And I just…I’m scared.”
“Well, you need to grow a pair and get over it,” he snapped. “Because if you stay scared, you’re going to lose this guy. No, you already lost him. He’s gone now.”
Hearing Dax say he didn’t want to be friends at all hurt more than his lie. Knowing we would never run into each other at basketball or the bar or wherever…was devastating. Now, he really was gone. Permanently.
“Get your shit together, Carson. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
Matt grabbed his fork and started to pick at his cake. He didn’t participate in the conversation.
“I’ve only been divorced for a year—”
“That’s plenty of time. If you continue to live in the past, you’ll never be happy. And the best revenge is being happy. So, live well—and you can’t live well alone. You need to pull your head out of your ass, Carson. If you don’t, I’ll do it for you.”
The days passed with strange stillness despite how busy I was. I was all over the place, working on my articles, staying late at the office, getting to bed at some ungodly hour, just to wake up at sunrise the next morning.
But most of my thoughts were filled with Dax.
I remembered the pain on his face, the sincerity in his eyes, the intensity of the moment as he threw his heart on the table and let it pulse right on the surface. My response was cold, but his declaration had been so unexpected there had been no time to react, to prepare.
I felt like shit.
I didn’t know what to do.
I still had to finish his article and had more questions, so I called his office and made an appointment. He said he didn’t want to be friends, so I had no idea how our next meeting would go.
Within fifteen minutes of making the appointment, I got an email.
From: Dax Frawley
Carson,
If you have any remaining questions pertaining to your article, you can send them here.
Dax Frawley
CEO, Clydesdale Software
It was like a punch to the gut, the way he cut me out of his life like a surgeon removing an organ. It was sterile and clean. It hurt…a lot. I didn’t respond back because I would only type my questions and say nothing else.
I still had to interview his sister, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
Eleven
Dax
I stepped into Renee’s office. “I just talked to the developers, and we’re completely scrapping our previous idea. We’re meeting up again in a week to see what they come up with, and I’ll do my own research. So, you need to talk to the manufacturers and put everything on hold.”
Her office was the complete opposite of mine. She had a white desk with a beautiful rug underneath. There were always vases of flowers everywhere. The walls had images of the beautiful countryside, reminding her of our home in