Chapter 13: Listening

For a moment, Reesa could do nothing but look at Myko. His words seemed to have gotten stuck somewhere between the part of her brain that made sense of life, and the part in charge of fight or flight. Eventually, though, she managed to echo his most glaring sentiment. “Our personal relationship?”

“Yes,” Myko said. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Reesa scrambled to collect her thoughts. “Is that how you think of us?”

“Absolutely. You’ve been the proverbial light in the fog of my new world. I’m thankful for you.” He paused, traced his bare ring finger, and then locked eyes with her.

“Daniela and Ethan’s affair didn’t just blow up my marriage and complicate my work, Mareesa. It also cost me the people I called my best friends. And while I know it wasn’t what either of us expected, somewhere along the way you filled the void. You became my friend. I want to be yours in return.”

“We are friends,” she assured him and felt some of the ache in her forehead subside upon saying the words.