ristan watched Nina leave his office in a hurry. Now he was confused at why she ran off like that. Maybe he had been a little hot and cold with her, but it was only because he couldn't get a handle on his own feelings for her.

Tristan sat down in his chair and sighed.

He didn't expect her to act the way she did. Now he wondered if kissing her again was the wrong thing to do. It didn't seem like she hated the kiss, but after seeing her runaway he wasn't so sure.

Tristan frowned when he saw Max come back inside his office.

"Why are you back so soon?" he asked, rubbing his temples.

Max walked over and sat down.

"I saw Nina run out of here. What did you do?" he asked, scanning Tristan's features.

"I kissed her."

Max laughed. "Your kiss must have been terrible."

"Shut up," he said, throwing a waded-up piece of paper at him.

Max laughed harder but became serious when he saw the look of frustration on Tristan's face.

"Listen, do you really like Nina?"

Tristan nodded. "I do."

"Why can't you be honest and tell her that?"

"I have."

Max shook his head.

"You may have told her with your words but not with your actions. Am I right?" he asked, with a quirked brow.

He sighed. "I'm not trying to get my heart broken again. I don't think I can love another woman again."

"I see where you're coming from but Nina doesn't. You need to be open and honest with her," he said, with an encouraging smile.

"You're right. It's telling her all this will be the hard part."

Max's smile widened. "You can do it."

Tristan stood up. "Let's go to lunch."

Max stood up as well. "You owe me dinner at your place."

Tristan locked his office and walked towards the elevator.

"You can come this weekend," he said, pressing the down arrow by the elevator.

"Cool."

They both stepped onto the elevator and clicked the floor for the parking garage.

Tristan had Max's words inside his mind as he stepped inside his home. It was late once again and he felt guilty for not being able to tuck in Nadia and read her a bedtime story once again. He went up to the second floor and made sure she was sleeping.

He tucked her in tighter and cut on her nightlight that wasn't turned on. She would get scared if it wasn't turned on when she woke up in the middle of the night. Once he made sure her night light was on, he placed a kiss on her cheek and shut the door.

Tristan trudged to his bedroom. He couldn't help but glance at Nina's door to notice there was no light under it.

Tristan undressed and turned on the shower. He didn't like the water too hot so warm was best for him. He stepped inside and let the water massage his muscles. He grabbed a small towel and put the bath soap on it and began to scrub his body clean.

As he scrubbed his body, his mind wandered to how he was going to tell Nina why he thought he was no good for her. He wanted to find the best words to tell her why he had been acting so hot and cold.

Tristan rinsed his body off for the last time and turned off the showerhead. He grabbed a white cotton towel and dried off. He wrapped the towel around his waist. He flossed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face.

He was contemplating the words he wanted to tell Nina as he slipped into his red shorts and a white tank top. Tristan was about to go to bed when he heard a knock at his door.

He opened the door to find Nina standing in front of him.

Her braids weren't tied up and she had a red nightgown on that accentuated her curves and made her skin tone glow.

Tristan saw how she was frowning and nibbling at her bottom lip.

"What's wrong?" he asked, grabbing her hand to lead her inside.

"I couldn't sleep," she said, looking up at him.

There was so much vulnerability in her eyes that he couldn't help but wrap his arm around her waist and bring her closer.

"Why is that?" he asked, running his hands against her braids.

"You were on my mind. I wanted to apologize for running out of your office the way I did," she said, glancing away.

"It's okay. Why did you run?"

She sighed. "I got scared."

Tristan frowned. "You're scared of me?"

Nina shook her head. "I'm scared of my feelings for you."

He squeezed her waist to comfort her

"You're not the only one."

Nina widened her eyes.

Tristan grabbed her wrist and made her follow him towards his bed. They both sat down on it and he turned his body in her direction and she did the same.

Tristan grabbed her hands in his.

"I've been abandoned twice. Once by my parents, and again when Nadia's mother left," he said, clearing his throat.

"Oh, Tristan. You don't have to tell me-"

"It's okay. I want you to understand why what we have is hard for me to accept."

Nina nodded and urged him to continue by giving his hands a squeeze.

"Apparently, my birth mother was a teen who had become pregnant at sixteen," he said, grinding his teeth to keep his emotions at bay.

"She had me at a hospital but told them she didn't want me."

Nina rubbed his back. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Did you get adopted?"

"I did at the age of seven but it wasn't to the best foster parents."

"What do you mean?" she asked, continuing to rub his back.

"My foster father was on drugs and alcohol. He would beat me and my foster mother."

Nina wrapped her arms around him. "Tristan, that's horrible."

"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to be put back into foster care. My foster mother was motherly and I loved her. I didn't want her to get into trouble."

Nina had tears running down her cheeks.

Tristan wiped at her wet cheeks and told her not to cry.

"He would beat us almost daily," he said, squeezing her hand. "Lift up my shirt."

Nina lifted his shirt and gasped.

***

Hey, guys. What do you think of Tristan finally telling Nina how he feels? Let me know what you think in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to comment, vote, and share :).