Backup Girl No More: Adios to my V-card and My First Love (Brooklyn) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20 

Chapter 20 

There’s this saying about breakups – women grieve immediately but heal in a month, while men might take ages to realize what they’ve lost. Then comes the desperate backpedaling. 

Aiden’s backpedaling came late – after six months of playing the field and a quiet winter break, he suddenly became a constant presence in my life. 

I never figured out what excuse he gave Columbia for missing classes, but he kept showing up in California. Designer gifts appeared at my door – I returned them all. He’d wait outside my dorm for 

hours, refusing to leave. When he caught me, he’d trail me to class, to the dining hall, everywhere. 

Jake was beside himself, torn between amusement and irritation. “You know, most girls don’t have 

their exes fly across the country to stalk them,” he’d joke, but I could hear the worry beneath. 

Mrs. Carter called constantly, frantic that Aiden was risking academic probation, begging me to talk 

sense into him. The irony wasn’t lost on me – the perfect son throwing everything away for the girl he’d once taken for granted. 

Finally, I confronted him by the bay. 

Aiden immediately lost it. “Why can Jake pursue you but I can’t? He’s known you for what, five 

minutes? I’ve known you my whole life. Nobody knows you like I do, nobody’s better for you than 

me.” 

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Really, Aiden? Have you forgotten everything you did? Did you ever take 

my feelings seriously? You just loved having someone worship you, knowing I’d always be there no 

matter how badly you treated me.” 

Hit with the truth, he cracked. “Yes, I messed up. I was young and stupid, thought the whole world 

was waiting for me. I didn’t want to be tied down. I owe you a real apology – I’m sorry, Brooklyn.” 

His voice softened. “But even if you see me as a stranger now, don’t I deserve a chance to win you 

back? Since you’ve been gone, I can’t adjust to life without you. I can’t imagine not sharing 

everything with you anymore.” 

The evening wind off the bay whipped around us as I considered my words carefully. 

“You know what I learned after leaving? Real love shouldn’t feel like walking on eggshells. I can be myself now, my happiness doesn’t depend on someone else’s mood. Maybe what I felt for you wasn’t love – maybe it was just teenage naivety.” 

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Backup Girl No More: Adios To My V–Card and My First Love 

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Chapter 20 

He looked like I’d struck him. When he finally spoke, his voice was small. “But we had plans – college together, grad school, traveling the world. Are you breaking all those promises too?” 

“You broke them first,” I said gently. “And I’ve found someone I actually want to do those things with 

now.”