Chapter Ten

Tanner drove to the garage, parked, and pulled out his cell phone.

“Don’t hang up, please,” he said when Blake answered with a snarl. “I need to talk to you.”

“So talk,” Blake snapped.

Tanner sighed.

“I never told you about Amber,” he began.

"Who's Amber?"

“She’s a girl I dated right before I left the Marines,” Tanner revealed. “And I fell for her. Hard. I started planning to buy a house and marry her and start a family with her. The whole nine yards. I really thought she was the one.”

He heard curiosity creep into Blake’s voice.

“So, what happened?”

“I came home early one day, and she was in bed with another guy,” Tanner said simply. “She played me, Blake, the same way you and I used to play with girls’ hearts in high school. And it crushed me, and it made me sick to my stomach to realize that I had put others through that exact same kind of hurt.”

“What did you do?”

“I packed up my shit and I moved out and I haven’t looked twice at another woman since. That was almost four years ago.”

“I’m sorry, man, I didn’t know.”

“I know you didn’t. I didn’t tell anybody, not even Mom and Dad. I figured it was the karma bus running my ass over the way I deserved. And I’ve been alone since then. Until tonight, when I stumbled across Mia.”

“So, she’s not just another good time to you.”

Tanner closed his eyes, searched his heart, and replied.

“No,” he answered honestly, the realization flooding him with joy. “No, Mia’s not just a good time at all, Blake. She’s so, so much more than that. And if she’s willing to let me be a part of her life and give me the gift of her time and attention, I swear to you that I will never, ever take it for granted.”

There was a long silence.

“You there?”

“I’m here,” Blake said. “I just… I’m sorry for what I said earlier, Tanner. It was uncalled for.”

“It wasn’t out of line, Blake. You were one hundred percent right. I was a complete player back then. I don’t deny it. But I also can’t change it. All I can do going forward is to be the best man for Mia that I possibly can be – if she’ll even still have me, that is.”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but she’s had a thing for you for years.”

“I know,” Tanner chuckled, “she let it slip earlier, thinking you’d already spilled the beans about it.”

He sighed and his tone turned serious.

“And right now, she’s sobbing in my bathroom, Blake. After our phone call, I told her that I’d changed my mind and that she and I shouldn’t be together. I didn’t mean ever, I just meant take things slow, not rush in. But she thought I meant at all, and lost her temper before I could explain, and, well, I think she hates me now.”

“Ouch.”

“Ouch, indeed. And I don’t know what to do.”

“Actions speak louder with Mia. They always have. If you truly care about her, don’t just tell her, Tanner. Show her.”

***

Tanner crept back into his house and headed for the bedroom, confused when he didn’t find Mia in the bathroom or in bed.

It wasn’t until he returned to the living room that he noticed her, curled up in a little ball on the couch, shivering in her sleep. And he could see the streaks on her face where her tears had dried.

Oh, baby. I’ll spend every day making up for making you cry, Mia.

He moved back to his room and turned down the covers, then returned to the couch. As gently as he could, he scooped her up, carried her to the bed, and tucked her in.

The last thing he did was turn off the kitchen and living room lights before he put on pajamas, climbed into bed, and snuggled up next to a still asleep and shivering Mia to try to keep her warm.

***

A few hours later Mia woke, startled, and started to pull away from him.

“What the…”

“Shh, baby. You were shivering on the couch, so I brought you in here.”

He tightened his arms around her.

“Can we talk? Please?”

He felt her trembling against his chest as she responded in a shaky voice.

“Okay.”

Tanner took a deep breath and spoke honestly into the dark.

“Mia, I don’t know how much you remember about me back in the day, but…I was not a good person,” he began. “I was a player, and I hurt people.”

“I remember your nickname. ‘Good Time Greysen’,” she admitted, and he flinched, then sighed.

“Yeah. Well, I was a complete ass back then. And your brother thought I was still like that, so he warned me to stay away from you.”

Silence reigned for a long moment, and just when Tanner thought all was lost, she spoke into the darkness.

“Go on,” Mia urged softly.

“Long story short, about four years ago I got a massive dose of my own medicine,” he confessed. “And it tore me up, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it also opened my eyes to what a horrible guy I used to be. I’m not that guy anymore, Mia. But I realized that maybe I was meant to be alone, as a fitting punishment for all the hurt I’d caused. I didn’t like it, but over time, I managed to make peace with it.”

He pressed his lips to her hair.

“And then I found you on the side of the road last night, and everything changed, Mia. You’re the first woman in four years to even turn my head, much less make me feel something.”

“What are you saying?”

“When I told you last night that I was wrong and we can’t do this, I wasn’t talking about being with you, Mia. I simply meant I didn’t want to rush things. I want to slow down and do things right. You’re worth that. Taking my time and doing things right.”