from an infuriated red
to an embarrassed pink. “Really?” I asked with surprise in my tone.
“Really.” He
stared back at his plate.
Then I felt the
need to try to explain away my bout of momentary insanity. “I’m sorry, Hugh,” I
rushed. “I..I didn’t…If I was on your mind, well… you never led on that you
cared what happened to me at all. So, I just assumed…”
But Hugh
interjected with a response that was so unexpected I wasn’t sure if I heard him
correctly. He leaned his torso back and kept his voice low. “Yeah, well, at the
time I was keeping my distance in an effort to avoid jail time.” I watched as
his eyes strolled from my face down to my torso, which was as far as his eyes
could travel on my body and back up. Then he took a deep breath and continued
on. “You were on my mind quite a lot, Delilah. Like, all the time. But you were
under age and I...wasn’t.” He slid his hand palm down across the table until it
reached mine. “But I never stopped thinking about you. For years I admired you
from afar. Waiting. Then you left for college and I waited some more counting
the days till you would return.” His eyes rested on our joined hands and then
he continued. “I had a friend who owned a PR firm in Richmond so I asked if he
would do me a favor and offer you a job when you graduated. It was a way for me
to keep you around. Local. Within reach. Accessible. But you never returned
home. Then I heard through the grapevine, and by the grapevine I mean Julia,
that you moved to New York. Apparently,” he paused to make eye contact, “there
wasn’t anything in our… I think she used the word hellhole , worth returning to.” He pulled his hand from mine and
stared back down at his dish licking his lips and pressing them together. “So,”
he whispered lamely and gave a shrug.
I bit my lip in
response. I had said those exact words to Julia. At the time, the last place I
wanted to be was back in my hometown. That was where my life had fallen
apart…my personal hell, socially anyway. I wanted to go someplace where no one
knew me. Where no one covered their mouth and talked out of the side to share a
comment with their eyes trained on me. But it never occurred to me that Hugh
would care one way or the other if I returned or not.
“Gosh, it sounds
pretty awful when I hear you say it. I’m surprised you stopped by to see me at
all.” If I were he I wouldn’t have come looking for me. Hearing him recount the
circumstances around which he received the news of my relocation, even I
thought I sounded like quite the consummate bitch.
“Well, I wouldn’t
have if it wasn’t for Griff,” he revealed.
This information
shocked me. I barely knew Griff. Why would he suggest that Hugh stop by to see
me? “Why would Griff tell you to stop to see me?” I queried still not
understanding the connection.
“He’s marrying
Tiff,” he explained.
Uh oh. Not this
again. “I’m not following, Hugh.” I was fairly certain my eyebrows couldn’t
knit any closer together as I tried to unravel the tangled line of
communication that led to Hugh looking me up in New York.
“Tiff is friends
with Julia.”
Holy shit.
Julia? The Julia
who fucking crossed her heart with her friendship ring finger thereby promising
to keep my love for Hugh Rowen a secret until her ass was buried six feet
under? That Julia?
My heart began to
pound rapidly in my chest. “And?” I drew out the one word hoping he would
continue.
“And she told Tiff
that you…well, you know…” He pointed to himself and then shrugged unsure if he
should continue given the unreadable look on my face.
“Um. No. I don’t
know. Could you maybe elaborate a little more?” I wasn’t sure how much of my
secret Julia shared. I mean, did Julia tell Tiff in passing that at one point
in time I liked Hugh or did she give Tiff the complete ‘Delilah Welling is
madly in love with Hugh Rowen and has been for her entire life’ version? One
way or
to an embarrassed pink. “Really?” I asked with surprise in my tone.
“Really.” He
stared back at his plate.
Then I felt the
need to try to explain away my bout of momentary insanity. “I’m sorry, Hugh,” I
rushed. “I..I didn’t…If I was on your mind, well… you never led on that you
cared what happened to me at all. So, I just assumed…”
But Hugh
interjected with a response that was so unexpected I wasn’t sure if I heard him
correctly. He leaned his torso back and kept his voice low. “Yeah, well, at the
time I was keeping my distance in an effort to avoid jail time.” I watched as
his eyes strolled from my face down to my torso, which was as far as his eyes
could travel on my body and back up. Then he took a deep breath and continued
on. “You were on my mind quite a lot, Delilah. Like, all the time. But you were
under age and I...wasn’t.” He slid his hand palm down across the table until it
reached mine. “But I never stopped thinking about you. For years I admired you
from afar. Waiting. Then you left for college and I waited some more counting
the days till you would return.” His eyes rested on our joined hands and then
he continued. “I had a friend who owned a PR firm in Richmond so I asked if he
would do me a favor and offer you a job when you graduated. It was a way for me
to keep you around. Local. Within reach. Accessible. But you never returned
home. Then I heard through the grapevine, and by the grapevine I mean Julia,
that you moved to New York. Apparently,” he paused to make eye contact, “there
wasn’t anything in our… I think she used the word hellhole , worth returning to.” He pulled his hand from mine and
stared back down at his dish licking his lips and pressing them together. “So,”
he whispered lamely and gave a shrug.
I bit my lip in
response. I had said those exact words to Julia. At the time, the last place I
wanted to be was back in my hometown. That was where my life had fallen
apart…my personal hell, socially anyway. I wanted to go someplace where no one
knew me. Where no one covered their mouth and talked out of the side to share a
comment with their eyes trained on me. But it never occurred to me that Hugh
would care one way or the other if I returned or not.
“Gosh, it sounds
pretty awful when I hear you say it. I’m surprised you stopped by to see me at
all.” If I were he I wouldn’t have come looking for me. Hearing him recount the
circumstances around which he received the news of my relocation, even I
thought I sounded like quite the consummate bitch.
“Well, I wouldn’t
have if it wasn’t for Griff,” he revealed.
This information
shocked me. I barely knew Griff. Why would he suggest that Hugh stop by to see
me? “Why would Griff tell you to stop to see me?” I queried still not
understanding the connection.
“He’s marrying
Tiff,” he explained.
Uh oh. Not this
again. “I’m not following, Hugh.” I was fairly certain my eyebrows couldn’t
knit any closer together as I tried to unravel the tangled line of
communication that led to Hugh looking me up in New York.
“Tiff is friends
with Julia.”
Holy shit.
Julia? The Julia
who fucking crossed her heart with her friendship ring finger thereby promising
to keep my love for Hugh Rowen a secret until her ass was buried six feet
under? That Julia?
My heart began to
pound rapidly in my chest. “And?” I drew out the one word hoping he would
continue.
“And she told Tiff
that you…well, you know…” He pointed to himself and then shrugged unsure if he
should continue given the unreadable look on my face.
“Um. No. I don’t
know. Could you maybe elaborate a little more?” I wasn’t sure how much of my
secret Julia shared. I mean, did Julia tell Tiff in passing that at one point
in time I liked Hugh or did she give Tiff the complete ‘Delilah Welling is
madly in love with Hugh Rowen and has been for her entire life’ version? One
way or
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