She was sitting on the counter. When he came in, she quickly wiped her tears away to hide the fact that she was crying. He walked over and stood in front of her. “It’s useless, Michelle. I heard you sniffling, and your face is all tear-stained. You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
She didn’t answer. She just fell into his arms and sobbed into his chest. “I can’t believe I moved here to be close to that bastard,” she whispered after calming down a little bit.
“Let me guess. He’s cheating on you.”
She looked into his eyes and nodded. “How did you know?”
“I have a little confession to make. I wasn’t sure how to tell you this, but he implied that he was dating another girl the other night when you went out to dinner,” Nick confessed. He looked away from her to avoid seeing the pain that twisted her beautiful features.
“He implied it? What do you mean?”
He hesitated for several seconds, knowing she was going to hate him. “Well, he flat out told me he had been seeing someone else.”
“You kept this from me?” she exclaimed angrily.
“Listen, Michelle, I just…you were so happy with him, and I didn’t want to see you cry. I was going to tell you sooner or later.”
“When? When he and I got married?” she shouted. Suddenly, the anger melted from her expression and she shook her head. “What difference does it make? I probably wouldn’t have believed you if you told me anyway.”
“I’m sorry.” He pulled her back into his arms and rubbed her back. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“Yes, he does. I’m a cold heartless bitch, and he’s an egotistical, two-timing bastard. We make a perfect match.”
“Hey, you’re not a cold heartless bitch.”
“That’s what you told me the other day. Or it was something along the lines of that.”
“I didn’t mean it. I just hadn’t gotten to know you.”
“So I’m not a cold heartless bitch?”
“No, of course not. You’re sweet, and pretty, and…you’re Michelle.” He kissed her forehead. “I like Michelle.”
She searched his eyes to find his meaning, unsure of how he liked her. “Like a friend?”
“Yes, like a friend. You’re a good person at heart.” “Do you really mean that?”
“Of course. If I didn’t like you, would I be comforting you?”
“Good point. Gosh, I can’t believe he did that to me. Why did I fall for his little I’m so nice act?”
“Because you’re human.” He paused. “What was he doing when you got over there?”
“He was making out with another girl, well on his way to sleeping with her.” “I’m sorry. He wasn’t worth your time.”
She sighed and pulled away. “So what do I do now? I moved here to be close to him. Do I move back now?”
Nick’s heart sank to his shoes, but he didn’t know why. “Ruskin is a great place for artists, you know,” he encouraged.
“I know. I love the beach, and I’m thinking of staying anyway.”
“I think you should. Otherwise I would have no one to clean up after me and keep me in line.”
She laughed through her tears. “Okay, I guess I’ll stay.”
“That didn’t take much to convince you.”
“That’s because I like it here with you.”