Oscar huffed, stepping back, then moving to the other side of the island. Leaning across, he reached for his beer, taking another long drink. Two sips in and he’d nearly polished off the whole bottle. “Yeah,” he said, with a surprising amount of heat. “That’s how I feel.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that. May I ask why you feel stuck?”
Oscar shook his head, the gesture not one of rejection, but rather reluctant capitulation. She was wearing him down.
His attention was focused on the large bay windows that created a small breakfast nook off the side of the kitchen. “I’ve been in love before. It didn’t work out.”
“Heartbreak isn’t an uncommon occurrence, Oscar.”
“It was more than that.”
“More?”
“Forget it,” he said dismissively.
“Did this relationship end recently?”
He shook his head, still not looking at her. “Two years ago.”
Selene wasn’t sure what to make of that response. “Two years,” she repeated. That was a long time. “Why did the relationship end?”
His gaze swung in her direction, and he was scowling deeply. “She said the only emotion I was capable of was anger. She was right.” His tone and dark expression certainly seemed to mirror that accusation.
She held his gaze. “I see.”
Oscar finished his beer with one last sip, and once again, she recognized his reluctance in continuing this discussion. The silence dragged on, lasting a few moments too long, passing from companionable to awkward.
She and Oscar didn’t have a long acquaintance, so any reassurance she might offer would no doubt ring false to him, though she’d certainly witnessed many emotions from him. Not the least of which was lust, her personal favorite.
So she wouldn’t dismiss her own instincts, which told her whoever this woman was, she had indeed been mistaken.
She expected Oscar to change the subject, so she was surprised when, once again, he stared out the window as he spoke. It was as if by avoiding her eyes, he could pretend she wasn’t there, wasn’t listening.
“We were high school sweethearts. She was my first love, and I was hers. I’m not going to say it was all sunshine and roses. We were off as much as we were on. Langston used to tease us, called us Ross and Rachel, but I did love her. And I tried to be the man she wanted, needed.”
Selene wanted to point out that love wasn’t truly love if it required change. Growing together and adapting, yes, but not one-sided change. She remained quiet, afraid he’d stop talking if she interrupted.
“We fell apart and came back together five times over the course of twelve years.”
Her eyebrows raised. “That is a long time.”
He nodded. “When you’ve been together that long, I guess it’s easier to return to something comfortable, familiar.”
“Is that why you continued dating her?”
Oscar shook his head. “No. That’s why I think she kept dating me. I loved her. Loved her so much, I tattooed her damn name on my back.”
She’d assumed the large tattoo, Faith, that was written across his back had been a declaration of spirituality.
“She broke things off for good the night I’d planned to propose.”
“Oh, Oscar. I’m sorry.” Selene was curious about a woman who would date a man twelve years if she was truly that unhappy with him. It seemed the height of cruelty to expect a man to change rather than to love him for who he was, and Selene found herself angry with a woman she’d never met.
Oscar studied her face and sighed. “You have more questions. I can see it.”
“I don’t wish to make you unhappy.”
Oscar snorted. “If you ask my family, they’d say that was my normal state.”
Selene considered that. Oscar was unlike any of the other men she had taken to her bed. She preferred adventurous, passionate lovers who saw sex as an outlet and an expression of self. In short, she preferred people with relatively few sexual hang-ups who were GGG—“good, giving, and game”—and didn’t take it too seriously. Oscar was gruff, and yes, she had noticed he was quick to anger, though not in a way that frightened her.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Oscar frowned and she could tell she’d surprised him with her observation. However, he recovered quickly. “Stick around a few more minutes and you’ll change your mind.”
She gave him a smile. “I don’t believe I will.”
His brows relaxed, giving his eyes a softer, less intense look. “So ask what you want to know.”