Page 12 of Rescuing Micah (Prey Security: Cyber Team #3)

May as well admit that and at least feel things out to see if a friendship between him and his ex could be a possibility. If it could, then maybe over time trust could be rebuilt, and if Teresa was willing to own up to her actions back then maybe they could start over.

A fresh start.

Micah liked the sound of that way more than he should, considering he’d only reconnected with Teresa a couple of days ago.

“So, what? And why are you staring at me like that?” Nathaniel asked as he pulled out a chair from the table and took a seat.

There hadn't been time yet to talk to his friend, so nobody knew that he and Teresa shared a past. Maybe there had been some guesses about it, because Teresa had been pretty adamant that she did not need a babysitter, but they could also have assumed that was because she was wildly independent.

Explaining their past without painting Teresa as the bad guy might take a little bit of work, but the last thing Micah wanted to do was tarnish her relationships with her friends over something she’d done as a stupid seventeen-year-old kid.

Taking a seat opposite his friend, he unwrapped his sandwich and took a deep breath. Talking about Teresa definitely made him feel like a teenager again. His confidence wavered, and he was forced to admit the deep wounds she’d left him with.

“Teresa,” he said, like that explained everything.

A wide smile brightened Nathaniel’s face.

“You like her. I thought I sensed something there, the way you watched her the other day.

I'm not the only one who picked up on it either. Ava is determined to try to play matchmaker. She thinks it would be really cool if one of her best friends started dating one of my friends. If she can get you and Teresa together, I think I can expect every single guy on the team invited out here for auditions to see if they match with Chelsea.”

“It’s a little more complicated than someone just playing matchmaker.”

“Why? You guys not hit it off last night?”

“It’s not that,” he said, although they hadn't hit it off last night, not that he’d expected them to. He had expected more hostility from himself and less from Teresa. After all, he’d done nothing wrong, and she’d ruined everything they shared. “We have a past.”

At his revelation, Nathaniel almost choked on the mouthful he was chewing. Coughing and spluttering, he opened his bottle of water, swallowed a few mouthfuls, and then stared at Micah like he’d just announced he was the king of the world.

“You and Teresa know each other?”

“We do.”

“When did you meet? How did you meet? Why did neither of you say anything?”

“We met when I was sixteen and she was fourteen. My dad arrested her brother.”

“Simon,” Nathaniel muttered like he was aware of Teresa’s criminal brother. “Ava said he’s bad news. Also said he occasionally pops up to try to demand money from Teresa. Apparently, it always freaks her out, although she tries to hide it. According to Ava, anyway.”

“Started getting into trouble before he hit his teens,” Micah explained. “Always thought he was going to drag his family down with him one day. I’m glad he didn't. Teresa is doing well for herself, and she’s taking good care of her mom and Arthur.”

“Haven't met the kid, but Ava said Arthur is the sweetest.”

“He is. There’s something so innocent and charming about him. I know he was a lot of work for Teresa back when they were kids, with her mom working so much she did most of the caring for him when he wasn't at school, but she did good.”

“She did great,” Nathaniel agreed. Studying him in such a way that Micah wanted to squirm, he wasn't surprised by the question his friend asked next. “You and Teresa dated?”

“We did. For three years.”

“Who ended it?”

That was a difficult question to answer. He supposed technically he had ended the relationship, but he’d only done so because Teresa had cheated on him. So he supposed in reality she’d been the one to end things through her actions.

“That’s complicated. We were young, and stuff happened, and neither of us handled things like we should have.

” Micah felt that was fair. The majority of the blame lay on Teresa’s shoulders.

If she’d been having doubts about them, needed something he hadn't been providing, or wanted to let loose and be free, then she should have come to him and talked it through.

But a little bit of blame rested with him for not confronting her before bailing.

“Fair enough. Relationships are hard enough as an adult, let alone when you're just a kid,” Nathaniel said, and Micah knew his friend was thinking about how he’d kept messing up with Ava by allowing his past to get in the way of his future.

“I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about what Teresa is like now.”

The smile was back on Nathaniel’s face. “You want a second chance with her?”

“Maybe. I'm not sure. It wouldn't be easy with her working here and us on the other side of the country.”

“Ava and I are going to find a way to make it work.”

“Don’t doubt it for a second.” But that was different. Nathaniel and Ava were falling in love. Teresa didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him.

“I haven’t spent a huge amount of time around Teresa.

I barely have enough time to spend with Ava with being back on the team, and everything going on here with the trafficking ring, but from what I can see and what Ava has told me, she’s a great woman.

Loyal and protective, she definitely made it clear she wouldn't stand for me hurting her best friend. She’s smart, practical, logical, and no-nonsense.

She’s probably the best on the team at maintaining emotional distance. ”

Everything else he’d already known, but the last part shocked him. He’d already thought that young Teresa could never handle a job like this, so he’d known she’d changed somehow over the years, but no way would he have thought she was the best at compartmentalizing.

“Better than Josiah Fleet?” he asked, positive that couldn’t be true. He knew what the former SEAL had been through and the psychological toll it had taken.

“Josiah just channels everything as anger from what I hear and what I've seen. But Teresa is able to take a mental step back and not allow her personal feelings to get in the way. It makes her an amazing analyst.”

That might be true, but Micah was stuck on what had made her change.

How had she gone from having such a big heart that she hurt for others, took on way too much responsibility, and allowed herself, but never Arthur, to be bullied by Simon just so as not to cause her mom extra stress, to a woman who could take an emotional step back?

So much had changed over the last decade, and he wasn't sure what that meant for him and Teresa going forward.

Chances were, he was kidding himself that there was anything for them going forward.

After all, she didn't seem to like him much anymore.

“Has she …? Does she …? What's her dating life like?” He forced himself to shove aside his embarrassment and come right out and ask the question he was dying to know.

“Pretty much opposite from you as far as I know,” Nathaniel replied.

“Hey, I don’t sleep around that much,” he protested. He had sex when he felt like it, and okay, he was a young, healthy man with an equally healthy sex drive, but it wasn't like he had a different woman in his bed every night of the week.

“More than Teresa does. From what I've gathered from Ava, Teresa hasn’t been in a relationship in all the years they’ve known one another.

Doesn’t bring guys back to the apartment and rarely sleeps over at a guy’s place.

That’s part of the reason she’s so into the idea of you and Teresa, she thinks her friend needs someone to help balance her out.

To make sure she doesn’t overload herself with too much on her plate. ”

Now that sounded like the Teresa he knew. He’d always worried that she would forget about herself because she was so busy taking care of everyone else.

Micah liked knowing there hadn't been many men in her life, but he was having trouble correlating that with the cause of their breakup. Had things changed for her when she realized her choices had cost her him?

He was so confused about the whole thing, but most of all, he worried he was no longer what Teresa needed to balance out her life. He should have contacted her before now, or at the very least read the letter she sent so he could better understand what had happened back then.

Because it felt like he was missing a whole lot of pieces.