Chapter 33

“D-d-don’t.” AC took that hand in his for just a moment. “It’s v-valor and b-b-bravery. I was i-i-immature and m-mean. You sh-should h-hate m-me.”

“Never.”

As the silence lingered after that, AC wondered if it was the uncomfortable kind.

“I’m n-not s-sure I kn-know how to date,” he said just to break it. The statement was factual, though, and it made Rohan chuckle.

“I’m not sure I do either, AC. The last time I tried put me off it for good, or at least a good, long while.”

“Why?”

Rohan spoke to the ground as he stood there pulling bits of bark off the tree that stood between them. “Well, a few years ago, I posted a profile and a picture on a pretty tame kind of dating app. No explicit stuff, just my face. So, one day I’m scrolling through some of the men the site tells me I’m compatible with, and I get up the nerve to write to one. When he doesn’t get back to me right away, I go check him out again, because, for whatever reason, that’s what we do. Human nature, I suppose.”