Chapter 36
The next day, my head is sore from where Jimmy yanked me by my hair. I get up and get ready for class.
When I slide into the luxury SUV, I smile when I push the button, and it turns on.
It doesn’t make a sound like my piece of crap Honda.
This baby purrs.
Before I place the car in reverse, my phone vibrates, and I look at the text.
Rey: Don’t back up. I’m right behind you.
I check the rearview mirror, and Rey’s Range Rover is blocking me.
I smile and fire back a text.
Ari: What are you doing here? I have to get to class.
Rey: I’m here to drive you to class. Come get inside my car. It’s warm.
I smile, shut off my car, get out, lock it up, and walk over to his.
When I’m inside, it is warm, but it also smells like Rey. I don’t think I could get enough of his smell .
He opens his hand, and there are two pills, and he has a bottle of water in the other. He motions for me to take them, and I mutter, “Thank God.”
I swallow down the pills with the water and text him.
Ari: Thank you. My head feels like it got hit by a hammer.
Rey: I figured that asshole pulled your beautiful hair, and you would feel worse in the morning. I’m sorry for showing up. A restraining order means if the cops are called, he will go to jail if he is caught or there is evidence that he is still contacting you or within five hundred feet of you, but it doesn’t mean he won’t try again.
Ari: Thank you, Rey, for being there for me when he attacked me. I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.
Rey: He needs mental help, but I’m not taking any chances. What about breakfast?
Ari: Yes, please.
He smiles and drives us to a breakfast café off campus. I feel warm in my jacket, leggings, and Uggs. It isn’t snowing, but it is getting colder.
I think about what he said about mental health, and my thoughts go to his medical bill.
He parks out front.
Ari: Why do you see a psychiatrist?
It takes him a second to respond. I watch something cross his features.
Rey: I suffer from abandonment and have attachment issues. I have seen a psychiatrist since I lost my ability to hear. I was angry when kids would make fun of me. I stopped speaking. I refused a hearing aid.
Ari: Would it help you hear?
Rey: Not in boxing. I couldn’t wear it in the ring. I’m considered a deaf-mute, but the world doesn’t know that.
Ari: I think you’re amazing.
He glances at me, takes a deep breath, and slowly says, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I sign.
Some of the students recognize him. They smile. Some take pictures. I understand why he likes to go to small restaurants and diners.
I hope taking me out to breakfast doesn’t make him uncomfortable.
We enter the café, and I look up at the menu waiting in line. I text him to ask what he would like.
He places a tender kiss on the top of my head.
Rey: Coffee.
Ari: How do you like it?
Rey: If you were in my bed this morning, you would know I like it with lots of cream and sugar.
I almost choke on my spit. The girl at the register looks at me with concern when I begin to cough. She looks at Rey and then at me. I raise a finger, telling her to give me a moment .
Then I hear Rey say loud enough, with a slight accent, “She needs a minute.”
I start to laugh nervously when she says, “That’s okay. It happens.”
I finally place our order. I pull out my card when she rings us up, but he beats me to it and hands her his. I shake my head, and he nods. I roll my eyes playfully and step aside to the pickup line.
Rey drops me off, but not before giving me a scorching kiss on the lips. I lean into him, breathing in his scent, and sign, “I love you, Rey.”
Instead of signing, he says, “I love you, Ari.”
My heart melts—like ice under the sun. His voice is beautiful. He smiles and says, pacing himself, “I’ll pick you... up at three.”
I nod and blow him a kiss.
Walking toward the building, I notice his car doesn’t drive off. He stays until he sees me safely inside.
When my classes for the day are over, the campus is buzzing with students. The sky is the color of metal. The wind blows the leaves, dragging them across the blades of grass.
As promised, Rey’s Range Rover waits for me, but as I approach, he steps out of his car, and my heart skips a beat.
People were watching him walk around. He is a hulk of a man in his black hoodie. Tall, gorgeous, mysterious, and quiet.
“Do guys still do that?” a girl says, standing with a group of friends as Rey waits for me with the passenger door open. I want to jump into his arms, wrap my legs around him, and kiss his lips.
“He’s so hot,” the girl next to her says.
I never had a man wait for me and look at me the way Rey does .
Sometimes when you think you experience heartbreak, you need to release it into the past so that true love can find you and start a new beginning.