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Monterey.
    I pulled away and walked out of that damn romantic hallway, afraid of his words and of what they did to the coating around my heart.
    “Elsie?”
    “I don’t know how to believe you,” I said. My legs moved at a fast clip, too afraid to stop moving in case they start to buckle.
    “Elsie, stop,” he said, grabbing hold of my wrist, but I twisted away and kept on walking towards the exit. This non-date, as far as I was concerned, was over.
     
    “Did you listen to my tapes?” Henry asked as he drove home.
    I looked out the passenger window and said, “Yes.”
    “Well?”
    “Well what?” I asked, finally looking at him. “What do you want me to say?”
    “That you forgive me.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, was that your apology?” I asked. “You should have just made me a mix tape.”
    He sighed as he pulled into my apartment complex. “I get it, you’re not going to make this easy.”
    “Ha.” As if he had ever made anything for me easy. I jumped out of the car before he had a chance to open my door then strode to my apartment.
    Henry was hot on my heels, still in my space.
    “So I gave you one chance. Now will you go away?” I asked, struggling to get the key into the hole.
    “Is that what you really want?” he asked.
    I looked away, unable to bear looking at the pain on his face. “That’s what’s best for me right now.”
    “Okay.”
    My eyes flicked up in surprise. “Okay?” I asked. “I thought you said you were going to fight like hell to get me back?”
    “I’m picking my battles,” he said. “I have the rest of my life to win you back.”
    I didn’t know if I wanted him to keep trying but one thing was certain at that moment: I still loved him, changed as he was. I didn’t think I could ever stop loving Henry Logan.
    “But before I go, will you come to Dallas with me next weekend?”
    His question took me aback. “What’s in Dallas?”
    “There’s someone there I want you to meet.”
    “It’s not a girlfriend, is it?” I asked, the very idea filling me with dread and copious amounts of rage.
    He let out a short laugh. “That would be such a dickhead move.”
    “I wouldn’t put it past you. Since you are one.” I felt like a five-year-old but sometimes saying exactly what goes through your head is therapeutic.
    He gave a nod. “True. But no, this is not a girlfriend. Or a fiancée, or a wife.”
    “Then who?”
    “Just come with me and see.”
    The idea of a road trip with Henry seemed risky. Three hours with nothing to do but talk was going to be hazardous to my health. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “What if I said we could stop at Braum’s on the way there and on the way back?” he asked.
    “Tempting me with ice cream?” I asked. “That’s low.”
    He reached out and took my hand. “You’ll love it, I promise.”
    I gazed at his face, at how much had changed in the past year. He was still recognizable, but I saw the tiny changes in him, knew that he was in a happier place in his life. Despite my reserve, I still felt the need to get to know this new Henry, if only to satisfy my curiosity.
    “Okay, I’ll go.”
    He smiled. “Wear warm clothes,” he said before giving a short wave and leaving.
     
    Seth called that night, wondering how my Sunday had been. I hadn’t told him about Henry being in town, had only said that a friend and I were hanging out, which technically was not a lie. But I knew that little white lies had a way of accumulating until they became an avalanche of lies, so I told him about Henry to avoid getting buried.
    Seth was silent for a long time after I was done with my confession. Finally he said, “So he’s backing off after Saturday?”
    “That’s what he said,” I said with a pit of remorse in my stomach. Seth was a good guy and didn’t deserve to have a girlfriend who was still in love with someone else. “I’m sorry, Seth. I didn’t mean to lie about it.”
    He cleared his throat. “Do you