“For what?” he questioned, his eyebrows crinkling up in confusion.
“For getting mad at you and how we ended things,” I explained, “I was upset and blew up at you at your work and it wasn’t fair. We never agreed to be exclusive and I was completely out of line,” I finished, my cheeks hot with embarrassment. He smiled down at me and stroked my flamed cheek with his thumb.
“Leah,” he said slowly, the sweet sound of his voice when he said my name made my knees weak and my heart flutter. “From the moment you came back into my life, you were the only one for me,” he said lovingly, his voice hushed as he continued to caress my cheek with his thumb. “There was no one else when I was with you, I tried to explain,” he continued, stealing my breath away.
“But,” I started, so confused. “Ashley said…” I started, not comprehending his words but wanting them more than anything to be true.
“Ashley,” he almost spat and removed his hand from my cheek, his posture no longer relaxed and now rigid and tense. “She lied,” he said, his voice full of anger and hate. Why would she lie to me? She had been like a sister to me, it didn’t make any sense.
“She said you two have been seeing each other for months and made it sound like you two were pretty serious,” I told him. His muscles pulsed beneath his shirt then.
“Ashley was a drunken one night stand, I had the mistake of making in the summer when I got back and I have regretted ever since,” he explained and I could see in his emerald eyes that he was telling me the truth. “She’s been stalking me for months, harassing me at work and showing up wherever I am. I can’t stand her and the only thing serious between us, is how close I am to getting a restraining order.” I was so shocked to hear this, after how Ashley had spoken about him all the time. I truly had believed they’d had a relationship similar to what I had with Axel.
“One night?” That was all it had been? Before me, I reminded myself and then felt my mouth drop at how badly I had treated him and how harshly I had accused him. We’d gotten quite close and I had completely disregarded what I’d gotten to know about his character.
“Oh my God,” I said, shocked to the core. “I am so truly sorry for everything I said and how I treated you. I’m actually a terrible person,” I apologized, feeling like a monster. Axel smiled down at me and stroked my cheek once more.
“It’s okay, you were right. I do have a bad history. And how were you supposed to know your sister’s best friend is a lying psycho stalker?” he chuckled, making light of the situation on my behalf.
“Still. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt and I’m so sorry Axel,” I apologized again.
“All that matters is that you know the truth now,” he said, brushing off how horrible I’d been to him. He lowered his head towards my lips and put his hand on my waist holding me gently.
“Axel,” I heard myself gasp out, my lungs not working properly with his warm body pressed so close to mine. He looked down at me, his beautiful forest green eyes filled with lust. “We can’t.” I grimaced, moving a fraction away but not having the strength to move anymore. He was like a magnet pulling me in and there was no real way to escape.
“Why not?” he questioned baffled. “You know now.”
“It’s not that,” I told him. “I have a boyfriend now, Hunter, and I’m not that kind of person,” I explained. I could tell my words hurt him and he physically flinched from them. Axel nodded slowly and let go of me, being the one to fully step back and create distance between us.
“I know you’re not Leah,” he said, his voice soft. “Where is he?” he asked his voice dull and lifeless.
“Hunter?” I questioned, he nodded simply in reply. “He’s at a table with his friends,” I answered, slightly embarrassed. Axel didn’t look impressed and neither was I but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“Why are you with him Leah?” he asked, the pain evident in his voice but there was no malice, it was just a sincere question. He’d been honest with me all night, so I owed him that much.
“I wanted something serious, Axel,” I told him honestly. “It was never serious between us and Hunter liked me and wanted the same thing,” I explained simply.
“You never said anything,” he said stunned. “Why didn’t you talk to me about it?” he asked, looking hurt again.
“I wanted to but I was scared. I was going to talk to you about it when you got back from your trip. But then Ashley told me everything and with your reputation and all, I knew you weren’t the serious type.” My words hit him deep and I wished I wasn’t the one bringing him pain, after all he had done for me.
“You should have talked to me Leah,” he mumbled looking away, unable to look at me.
“Would it have mattered?” I asked, fearing the answer and wishing I’d never asked, knowing I wouldn’t like the answer either way.
“Leah, I wanted to be in a serious relationship with you the second you walked into my bar. But you set the terms and always got so spooked when it came to intimacy. I didn’t want to scare you away. When I got back, I was going to finally ask you to officially be my girlfriend but you started avoiding me and then everything blew up,” he
