Free Trust in Me by Bethany Lopez

was an ass.
    Rich hated that anyone could put that look on
her face, and he hoped that she’d tell him more about her life. For
now, he was happy just to be with her. The candlelight lit up her
face, and he would gladly watch her all evening.
    “Well, since you shared, I guess it’s only
fair that I do as well,” Rich began, pushing his empty plate to the
side and picking up his wine glass to take a drink.
    Roni just looked at him and waited patiently
for him to say what he needed to.
    “I fell in love when I was sixteen,” Rich
began, his stomach churning at the memory. “Tara and I grew up
together. Typical girl next door stuff. I think I began to love her
when we were ten and she punched a kid on the playground who made
fun of her skinny legs,” Rich chuckled at the memory. “Anyway, when
we were kids, the three of us were inseparable: Colin, Tara, and
me.” He paused and looked at her.
    Roni smiled her encouragement, urging him to
go on.
    “Things started to change for us when we
started high school. We still hung out together, but not all of the
time. She started running with a rough crowd and Colin and I joined
the football team. We were practicing all of the time, and although
she lived next door, we lost touch. We reconnected the summer we
were sixteen. I was on break from football, and school was out.
Tara and I started spending every waking moment together. I fell
completely and totally in love, like only a teenager can, I guess.
I was oblivious to anything but Tara. I barely saw Colin at all
that summer, but I didn’t care. I only cared about Tara. When
practice started back up, I began to hear things. Things about Tara
and other guys. I got in a lot of fights, but I was afraid to ask
her... I didn’t want it to be true. Finally, Colin pulled me aside
and told me that Tara had sex with over half of the football team,”
Rich shook his head and smiled sadly. “I didn’t care. I loved her,
and what she’d done in the past didn’t matter, but then he told me
that she’d been seeing other guys all summer, the entire time we
were together.”
    Rich paused and took Roni’s hand in his, “I
know it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. Not now and not
compared to your marriage, but at sixteen, I was absolutely
devastated. When I confronted Tara, she admitted it flat out. She
didn’t think it was a big deal. We both said some nasty things and
I vowed I’d never let another girl get me so wrapped up again.”
    Roni squeezed his hand, and he looked up at
her, his grief apparent in his eyes.
    “She died our senior year.”
    “Oh, my gosh,” Roni exclaimed. “I’m so
sorry.”
    “It’s okay,” he said. “I hadn’t seen her
since we’d had it out that summer.”
    “What happened?” She asked.
    “Car accident. She was out with her friends
and they’d been drinking. None of them survived,” Rich took another
sip of his wine and said, “Let’s talk about something else.”
    When the waiter cleared their plates and
asked if they’d like dessert, Rich looked at Roni and crooked his
eyebrow.
    “Oh, no, thanks,” she said patting her
stomach. “I’m totally stuffed.”
    Rich shook his head at the waiter and put his
hand out to hold hers lightly.
    “Would you like to go to a movie, or rent
one?” He asked, hoping she wasn’t ready for their date to be
over.
    “Nicole and I have a bunch at the apartment,
I’m sure we can find something to watch,” Roni answered.
    His stomach dropped and cock jumped. “Is
Nicole home?”
    “No,” Roni said with a smile. “She spends
most nights at Kent’s. She won’t officially move over there until
after the wedding, but she essentially lives there already.”
    Rich felt a flash of heat as he thought about
being alone with Roni at her place.
    Jeez, his body was reacting like he was
fifteen again. He needed to get a grip.
    “Okay, sounds great.”
    Roni chatted about the items she wanted to
get for the resale store while they made the trip to her