“So what made him finally decide to end it?”

Sarah removed the hair band out of her hair and pulled her hair back again, redoing her pony tail. It was a nervous attempt to make time to think of how to say it. She’d been so consumed with thoughts of her father all day she never even stopped to think of how best to tell him if she ever had to. It hadn’t occurred to her he might ask straight out.

“Carina gave him an ultimatum,” she said, looking away at the television, hoping he wouldn’t ask for specifics, but she knew he would, so she didn’t want to be looking him in the eye when she told him. “And he finally walked away.”

Feeling his eyes on her, she continued to pretend to be engrossed in the laundry detergent commercial on the television. “What was that ultimatum, Sarah?”

If she didn’t hear it in his voice—that he already knew—she might be tempted to continue to stare at the TV. Of course, it was now on an episode of a show Angel knew she hated, so it was pointless to pretend she was into it. Needing to deal with this head on instead of making it seem as though she might actually believe for a second what she knew Angel was already thinking, she turned to face him. “He either ended his friendship with me or ended his relationship with her.”

Angel’s eyes dug into her like she’d only seen them do this intensely a few times since she’d been with him. One of those times was that night she’d never forget: the night he met Sydney for the first time.

“So he chose you over his girlfriend of almost three years?”

“Yes, but their problems had been building for months, Angel—”

“And now he’s moving to Southern California?”

Sarah nodded, knowing full well she’d been absolutely right about how Angel would take this. No matter how much she argued or how many other facts she had to back up the idea that there’d been many issues between Sydney and Carina, she could already see it in his eyes. He wasn’t going to buy any of it. “Look,” she said, slipping her hand in his. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“Of course I do,” she said, trying not frown. “It’s what you’ve always thought: that he has feeling for me beyond friendship and that his moving out here has everything to do me and not the academic reasons he told me and that—”

“He’s in love with you and always has been.” Sarah was already shaking her head, but before she could protest, he continued. “Why do you act like that’s so out of the question?”

“Because it is,” she said with conviction. “You don’t know him like I do, Angel. If he’s always been in love with me, don’t you think he would’ve mentioned it by now? I know, for you, it’s seems impossible, but he and I were friends long before I met you—long before I was in a committed relationship. He could’ve said something then. At the very least hinted.”

“Maybe he was afraid of ruining things,” Angel said, still looking every bit determined to stick with his theory. “I can’t believe the thought never crossed your mind. You said it yourself. He was overweight for many of those years you knew him—very overweight. That could’ve been a huge deterrent for him. If he was that insecure that you wouldn’t be physically attracted to him, maybe that’s what kept him from making a move sooner.”

She continued to shake her head. “It was never like that between us. In fact, I used to tease him that I thought Carina had a crush on him before they even got together.” She took a deep breath when his expression stayed exactly the same. Deciding to try a different approach, she humored him. “Okay, so what? You think now he’s decided to make his move? Now that I’m in love and have been in love and in a serious relationship for almost three years?” She squeezed his hand. “Baby, he knows how much you mean to me. I promise you he would never do or say anything that would cause problems for us, even if by some infinitesimal chance you’re right and he’s been in love with me all this time.”

His glare finally eased up the tiniest bit, but Sarah knew everything she’d worked so hard for in the last three years was down the toilet. The progress she made getting Angel to fully understand the dynamics of her friendship with Sydney, even if it was never full acceptance but more like tolerance, was back to square one.

But she was done with tension for the day. She could tell Angel could use a release, and she definitely could too. Smiling wickedly, she leaned in and kissed him passionately. Feeling him over his pants with her hand, she confirmed he was instantly ready for her. Pulling back, she smiled at him, biting her lower lip. “I’m chaining the door.”

She jumped up and headed for the front door, chaining and locking the dead bolt Angel himself had installed when she and her mom first moved in. She turned to see Angel smirking at her expectedly. The bulge in his crotch was evidence he knew exactly what she was up to. She hurried to him, leaning over to kiss him as her hands worked his zipper open and pulled him out as he groaned in her mouth. Within seconds, she was out of her shorts and climbed on the sofa one knee on either side of him.

As she slid onto him easily, making it obvious how ready she too had been for him, Angel moaned, letting his head fall back.

“God yes,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut as she pushed down, wanting him in as deep as possible.

This was so what she needed today.