His shoulders give a lazy shrug. “It never felt just right with Amber. I’m not sure why. I don’t even know why I proposed, to be honest.” One of his hands move to pet Molly’s furry back. “I tried to convince myself that everything was perfect, but once she said no, I realized that I was blinding myself with hope and it wasn’t good enough.”

I nod. It all sounds so mature. He’s probably only a few years older than me, but he’s already lived so much. Love and relationships and proposals and breakups. I can’t begin to imagine what it all feels like. In some areas of my life, I’m a successful woman, but here, in my apartment, next to this man, I feel stupid. The girl who’s never been with a man before—in all the ways that count. I’ve had my reasons, but it still makes me feel inadequate. Or maybe jealous would be a better word.

“Are you happier now than you were when you were with her?” I ask. I didn’t even know I was wondering about that until the question leaves my mouth. For someone who hates talking about herself, I sure seem to love learning about others. Or maybe it’s just him that piques my interest.

He takes a second to think before saying, “My life is much more complicated now than it was then, but in a way, I think I am, yeah.”

“I’m glad.”

“What about you?” he says as he leans an arm on the back of the couch. “You never did tell me exactly why you were there that night.”

I don’t speak.

“But there’s one thing you mentioned that’s been running around in my mind for a while.”

Shit.

Please not that please not that please not that.

“You said something about your genes.”

And there it is.

My nails dig into my palms as the sentence resonates in my mind like the boom of a gong.

What in the world made me share that with him? Sure, I never thought I’d see him again, but that only proves I should never talk about myself, even with drunk strangers.

Aaron’s brows furrow when I don’t answer.

“You can tell me anything, you know,” he says.

I lick my lips. The thing is, I do know. I think I even knew that when we met. There must’ve been a reason that led me to give this little piece of myself to him. Maybe I saw the same thing in his eyes that I do right now. This spark of warmth. The one he shows his sister when he packs her lunch for school, or the one he gives his mother before kissing her cheek in the morning.

Aaron Scott-Perez makes me want to talk.