Page 82 of The Other Guy

It’s true that I’m excited to see the movie but how annoying that I’m still being associated with him. Though, I don’t think either of us have made it social media official that we’re now owning a single status once again.

I suppose that’s the problem of relationships in our modern time. Everything has to be announced publicly and with fanfare.

I shoot him a quick text.

Me: Just a head’s up, I’m changing my status to single.

Jeff: Why? You’re coming back.

Me: Uh, no. I’m not.

Jeff: I don’t understand.

He doesn’t understand? How is that possible? My gosh, he’s such a jerk. Did he seriously think I’d be okay with his revolving door of women and not get mad about it?

Me: That’s like 100% of the problem. You thinking it was okay to cheat on me…

Me: Anyway, I just wanted you to know. Since you’re dropping all that extra weight that you’ve been carrying around figured we’d make it official.

He doesn’t respond to that and I’m not surprised. He doesn’t do well with being called out on his shit, obviously. Rarely takes blame for anything.

I open my social media back up and change my status to single, let out a sigh of relief, and feel the tension release from my shoulders then close it down. I play a game of solitaire on my phone while I continue to wait for Kyle. I briefly considered opening my Kindle app and reading, but I tend to get wrapped up in whatever book I’m reading and know that I’ll be annoyed if I have to turn it off.

Three games later, Kyle climbs back into his pickup and hands over a large folder.

I take it and turn to put it in his back seat but he stops me. “That’s something I need to talk about with you. Hungry now or want to hit up Walmart first? We can look at it together over lunch.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s do lunch first. I can tell you’re going to go crazy if I make you wait.”

I look at him and start to peek in the folder but he closes it. “Not until we sit down.”

“You’re kind of scaring me.”

“Nothing to be scared about.”

He shuts off the pickup. “Balance is just around the corner. Might as well walk.”

“Oh! Okay. Sounds good.”

For some reason Balance sounds really familiar and I wonder if I’ve seen an advertisement for it. That must be it because I know I’ve never been there.

Liberty, Michigan, is a beautiful small town. There’s pots of greenery and lights next to black metal benches on the sidewalks. Every store front has beautiful displays and it’s obvious the town takes pride in itself. It’s clean and well kept.

We round the corner and a delicious smell wafts in the air. I take a deep breath and moan. “Holy crap, I think I just drooled.”

Kyle chuckles. “I know. Between the cinnamon rolls and coffee at Dreamin’ Beans and the food at Balance, it’s mouthwatering, right?”

“It is.”

We walk into Balance, the atmosphere warm and inviting and if I thought it smelled good down the street, the scent inside makes my stomach grumble.

“Welcome to Balance. How many in your party?”

“Just the two of us,” I tell the hostess.

“Follow me,” she says, grabbing two menus. “Booth or table?”

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