Second Chance Boyfriend

girlfriend before. I’ve never been someone’s boyfriend. Twenty-freaking-one-years old and I’m a complete, clueless idiot when it comes to relationships and how to make them work.
    I pull into the parking lot of her apartment complex and her hand is already on the door handle. She looks ready to leap out of the vehicle while it’s still in motion, she wants to get away from me that badly. “Fable, wait.”
    Hitting the brakes, I wait for her to respond but she doesn’t. Her back is to me, her body poised to take flight and escape right out the door. I’ve hurt her and I hate that.
    “I’m sorry,” I say, my voice soft. “I didn’t mean to pass judgment on you. I have no right to do so. You accept all my faults, it’s the least I can do for you.”
    She turns to glare at me. “Because I accept your faults, you’ll accept mine? Is that all this is? If so, I need more from you, Drew. This isn’t some tit-for-tat sort of deal. I need your trust. I need you to believe that I want to be with you and only you. And my past can’t shade our present or our future. My past has always followed me and you know what sucks? Most of the stories out there are completely untrue. I make a few wrong steps, a few bad mistakes, and it turns into me ruling a multiyear Slutdom over all the guys. Through high school, outside of high school…”
    I remain quiet, absorbing her words. She’s right. I can’t let her past bother me or darken our future. If I do, I’m just setting us up to fail.
    “I’m not perfect,” she murmurs. “No one is. But I’m not going to pay for my mistakes every time you get mad at me or jealous. Going out with Jen tomorrow night isn’t about me trying to flirt with other guys or anything like that.”
    “I never said it was.”
    Her eyes soften the slightest bit. “So what’s the problem? Why are you acting like this?”
    “I’m not good at this sort of thing. I’m fucking it all up and I don’t know why.” I tap my fingers against the edge of the steering wheel, unsure of what to say next, feeling edgy as hell.
    She holds all the cards in this argument right now. I’m scared she’s going to say I’m not worth the trouble.
    “Using that as an excuse isn’t going to fly forever, you know. After a while, it’ll just get old.”
    “What are we doing, Fable?” I ask incredulously.
    She shrugs. “Having our first fight as a couple?”
    I want to laugh but I don’t. “I mean this. Us. What’s going on between us?”
    “If you have to ask, that scares me,” she answers warily.
    “Are we really a couple? Are we in a relationship? We haven’t defined it yet.”
    “Do we need to? Can’t we just take it day by day?” She turns away from me and stares out the window. “I’m tired. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this now.”
    Panic rises within me. “But…”
    “I think I want to be alone. I’m super tired and the last few days have been sorta overwhelming.” She opens the door and climbs out of my truck, bending over so she can meet my gaze through the still-open door. “I’ll call you tomorrow?”
    It’s like she’s leaving me for good. My throat’s dry and I can hardly force any words out, I’m so worried this is it. With my luck, I’ll never see her again. “Yeah,” I croak before she slams the door. “Call me.”
    She offers me a tiny smile before she lets the door close. And then she turns and walks away.
    Taking my heart with her.

 
     
    Chapter Fourteen
     
     
    If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever. – Alfred Tennyson
     
    Fable
     
    “Wake up.” I yank the covers from Owen and he tries to grab at them, rolling onto his back with an agonized groan.
    “Shit, Fabes, what are you doing here? And why are you waking me up like some sort of drill sergeant?”
    “Ha, if I were a drill sergeant I’d have a whistle blasting in your ear and be commanding you to run some damn laps.” I thwack him on the leg with my index finger and thumb, dropping the comforter back on him in a pile. “You’re going to be late for school.”
    He cracks open his eyes and glances at the clock on his rickety bedside table. “It’s not even seven yet. Why the hell are you up? What are you even doing here? I thought you’d stay the night with your new lover boy again.”
    Yeah, well, so did I. I’d even contemplated asking Drew to stay with me so I could be here for Owen last night. But that petty argument we got