Read Online My Daughter's Boyfriend by Cydney Rax - Free Book Online Page A

hadn’t realized how loud I’d gotten and how unnerved I felt. My hands were trembling and my mind felt clogged, like all my thoughts were crashing together and letting me know just how deeply this whole incident had affected me.
    I leaned toward Aaron.
    “You know, I’m glad you asked me these questions, because now I realize those things that I hadn’t come to terms with.”
    “Uh-huh. I’m listening.”
    “Now that I think about it, Steve
wasn’t
always there for me. He was only there when it was convenient for him. Hurts to admit it, but I put my life on hold just to be available for the moment that
he
could be available. He never went out of his way to meet my schedule. What schedule?
He
was my schedule, dammit. And I did everything I could, sacrificed time with Lauren, friends, job, personal interests, to be with his ungrateful ass.”
    Aaron covered my shaking hands with his steady and warm ones. My torso and legs shook as if I were standing outside naked in the kind of weather that makes you crave warmth, or that makes you wish you had a covering.
    Exposed.
    That’s what Tracey Davenport was. Not Steve Monroe, but me, because I could finally stop lying to myself about how great our relationship supposedly was. Instead of stretching the truth, I could stare truth in its face, an unflinching, uncompromising reality that forced my heart to see what it never before wanted to acknowledge. That what Steve and I had was just barely okay, and when you wanted more, okay just wasn’t good enough.
    “Hey,” Aaron said, staring into my face and shattering my thoughts. “It’s okay, okay?”
    I reeled back from his words and did not speak for a few minutes. But when I did, I got up and sat in the empty chair next to Aaron.
    “What up?”
    “If you don’t remember anything else, Aaron, remember this—women have a strong need to be cherished. If you don’t cherish her, be prepared to lose her.”
    He had a blank yet serious look on his face. I couldn’t quite interpret it, so I left it alone.
    I hated to disclose so much of my feelings to him like that. On the one hand the revelations seemed too much, too fast, and I wasn’t sure he’d be mature enough to do anything worthwhile with them. But I realized I had so much inside of me and was at the place where I craved that male point of view. I knew it was risky to lower my guard and expose my hurts, but right then the hurt seemed so mountainous, what difference did it make? What good would it do to suppress the pain of Steve not valuing me the way I felt he should have?
    Several moments later, Aaron paid the tab over my protests, and led us back into the shopping crowds. This time when we walked side by side, he bumped into me without apology. Shoulders rubbed shoulders. His presence invaded my comfort zone, making me feel comforted.
    “BOOKS-A-MILLION? SURE, I’LL GO in here with you,” I said to Aaron, and trailed him through the store’s front entrance. “Hey, you might even find a gift for your folks. It’s one of my favorite stores in the mall,” I added.
    “I thought so.” He winked.
    Displays of the hottest books filled every conceivable space: T. D. Jakes, John Grisham, Sue Grafton, and more were vying for customer attention.
    We walked around the store in a slow trot. Incredibly relaxed. No rushing. No other place to be, except with each other.
    “Tracey, what about some Iyanla Vanzant?”
    “No. Too deep. Your folks might appreciate something lighter.”
    “Okay, I’ll keep looking.”
    When he left my side, and I found myself alone in the fiction section, I felt my heart tug. Felt ashamed for becoming attached so fast. Wasn’t good to get attached too fast.
    After unsuccessfully trying to get myself interested in some discounted calendars, I swung hesitant fists at my conscience and sought Aaron.
    “Hey, now, coffee-table books are always a good choice,” I called to him. Thick hardcovers on every topic you could imagine were stacked on