Part 1No One’s Waiting for Him Anymore

My childhood friend, Leo, loved to date.

He also loved to set me up.

If anyone showed even the slightest hint of interest in me, he would move heaven and earth to play matchmaker.

"Marcus is back in the country," he told me, leaning against his car. "He wants to get dinner, asked me to bring you along." He glanced at me. "You should go. I think he's still into you."

"You weren't interested back then, but maybe it'll work out this time."

His tone was more sincere than when he'd proposed to me two years ago.

I'd lost count of how many times he'd tried to sell me off like this. In the past, I always refused.

But this time, I smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll go."

In the tenth year of loving Leo, I finally let him go.

* * *

Leo was driving me home when he suddenly called my name just as I was getting out of the car.

I turned. He had one arm resting on the open window, the ember of his cigarette glowing in the dark.

He gave me a lazy smile. "This time, after you see Marcus, don't go crying to me on the phone, begging me to pick you up."

I smiled back. "I won't."

"And if things do work out between us, I'll have you to thank."

The night air was cool against my bare skin, a chilling, clarifying sensation. "I think it's time I had a real relationship. As for us..." I paused, searching for the right words. They caught on my tongue. "Whether you're looking for a girlfriend or just a warm body in your bed, that's your business."

"Let's just call it quits between us."

The year I loved Leo the most, he must have noticed the way I looked at him, because he started avoiding me at every turn. He'd answer one out of every ten of my calls, reply to two out of every ten texts. But just when I'd resolved to put some distance between us, he'd reach out, asking if I was taking care of myself.

The first time I met Marcus was one of those rare occasions when Leo sought me out, saying he wanted to take me somewhere fun.

But when we got there, I went to buy a bottle of water. When I came back, Leo was gone. Only Marcus was left, waiting.

"He had to leave," Marcus said. "He told me to hang out with you."

I blinked, trying to process his words. "What does that mean?"

Marcus's features were sharp and cool, but his gaze was intense, focused. "I like you," he said simply. "Leo said he'd introduce us."

I later learned the full story. When Marcus first told Leo he was interested in me, Leo had raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I can set you two up. In exchange, give me your cousin's number." And just like that, Leo had pushed me toward someone else.

Right at the moment when I was filled with hope, thinking he'd finally stopped avoiding me. I'd tried on a dozen different outfits before meeting him, wanting to look perfect.

Seeing my eyes welling up with tears, Marcus frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize... he didn't explain things to you."

That day was a disaster. I walked home aimlessly, tears streaming down my face.

I called Leo. The line was busy. I called again. Still busy. I kept dialing, my actions mechanical.

Marcus caught up with me from behind, his hand closing around my wrist. He knelt before me and gently swapped my high heels for a pair of flats he was holding. "Come on," he said softly. "How much farther do you have to walk? I'll walk with you."

Just then, Leo's call came through.

I was sobbing so hard I could barely speak, managing only to call him a bastard.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his tone casual. "Did Marcus give you a hard time? Alright, alright, I'm coming back to get you."

On the way there, I'd been in the passenger seat. On the way back, Leo's new girlfriend was sitting there. She was beautiful. When she got out of the car, she and Leo shared a long, lingering kiss.

His lips were stained a deep red. He took her hand. "I'll drop my friend off first, then I'll come find you tonight."

The girl smiled shyly. I whipped my head around, staring out the window at the reflection of his handsome, faithless face.

This was back in college, when we still lived with our parents. We'd been neighbors for almost twenty years. No matter how much we fought, we always walked the same path home.

Suddenly, Leo slung an arm around my shoulder, leaning in to look at my eyes. He smiled faintly. "Still crying? What could possibly be worth all these tears?"

"You don't like Marcus? I can introduce you to someone else, how about that?"

"When you were seventeen, you followed me around, tattling to our parents that I was dating. Now you're trying to ruin my love life again."

"Clara, have you ever met a bigger third wheel? If it were anyone else, I'd have decked them by now."

I stared at his face, which seemed to have shed the last of its boyishness, and a bitter ache filled my chest.

He was always so carefree, so thoughtless.

I was nineteen. My most vivid memory of Leo was the day he pushed me off on another guy and got his first official girlfriend.

That night, I hid in the dark, crying and praying. Please, God, please. Don't let me love him anymore.