Page 15 of Wild Thing
“How long has it been anyway?” Brax asked.
I faked deep thought and confusion by staring at my nails. Even though I remembered everything about the last day we saw each other, I didn’t want Brax to know how pathetic I was when it came to remembering the details.
Our break up had been brutal, but necessary. It wasn’t like there was a betrayal or anything sinister. It wasn’t even really his immaturity; if anything, his wildness was attractive.
We broke up because of our ambitions.
Because we put ourselves first; not each other.
I was moving to London—with or without him. I’d been desperate exactly one time in my life and that was the day I begged Brax to come with me.
He hadn’t entertained it for a second.
At the time, I couldn’t understand it. He argued the fact he'd worked years to be in the position he was, and moving to a new country would mean starting again. To leave it all behind wasn’t something he was keen to do.
Naturally, I took that as him choosing his job over me.
He said I was doing the same thing to him.
I hated it when he used logic in our arguments.
I wanted him to follow me, to chase me. When he didn’t, I took that as him not loving me the way I loved him.
Savage heartbreak. That’s what it was.
Eventually? I'd ended up feeling grateful for the break up. I’d traveled the world, lived on my own terms and created a decent life for myself.
That was the bullshit I told myself anyway.
Because all those years later… to hear he tried to find me? That was a hard pill to swallow.
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember,” he said, glancing sideways at me. “Just foggy on what year.”
“It was five years ago. I was 25.”
“Can’t believe we're in our 30's now. When did that happen?”
That was more of a statement than a question. I decided to brush over it and change the subject.
“So, aside from work, what about life in general?”
My tone was curious, carefully worded, but really I was fishing to find out if he was seeing anyone. We were old enough to be married, with kids even.
“No complaints, my life is pretty much all business. I took over Patch and Sons, so that’s been pretty crazy.”
“Wow, you own Patch and Sons? That’s major Brax!”
Damn, he must be highly successful.He obviously made the right decision by not chasing me halfway across the world. My heart stung a little. Not at his success, but that he was right all along.
“... and I recently bought another house.”
“Congratulations. You’re really adulting.”
“Yep. I’m adulting," Brax smirked. "Have been for a while now. I’ve changed a fair bit since you knew me, Dyl.”
Another awkward silence.
