Page 102 of Until We Meet Again

He can't love me.

I've tried so hard to hate him. I wanted to, but I can't forget about all the times he made me feel like I was pure sunshine. But there are two things I tell myself whenever my mind wanders into the place where I keep all of our memories.

He didn't fight for me.

He let me go.

Apparently, I’m some kind of masochist who likes a little self-torture because I’m currently sitting in my go-to coffee place—the place where Zane and I came for our first date. I plan on spending the day here, not thinking about him or the way his hazel eyes lit up the first time he saw me. Instead, I need to get everything in order before my interview in a few days for a job I can only dream of getting.

Editorial Intern is the job title. Despite the low pay and the fact that it's only part-time, it's a dream opportunity I'm desperate to achieve. While I sit here researching everything about Winged Wonders Publishing House and what they do, I can feel my nerves getting the better of me.

Jen finally got the job offer she was waiting for and started working for a fashion house in the city. She's only making coffee and answering phones for now, but it's a foot in the door. Even though she complains about Cindy, the man-eating queen bee boss who believes she's better than everyone and sleeps with all of her male interns, Jen's just happy to be there.

While I sip on my second smoothie of the day, this one’s pineapple, the sound of the door opening catches my attention.A gentle breeze sweeps across my bare shoulders, raising goosebumps on my skin.

I feel eyes piercing into my back, and suddenly, the air in the room feels suffocating. When the waitress says good morning, I notice that her voice carries a hint of flirtation, which immediately sparks my curiosity.

I want to turn my head and see who she's talking to, but something inside me doesn't want me to move.

Because this feeling is familiar.

Fighting myself, I slowly turn my head, waiting, hoping—deep down, already knowing—and then I see the back of him. Tall and commanding, with hair as dark as chocolate. His muscled back ripples through his shirt, but he never once turns around.

It's him.

I know it's him.

With my straw pressed against my lips, all my focus is on the guy at the counter. My neck begins to ache from holding this position, and I find myself silently urging him to turn around.

Come on, Zane. I know you can still feel me.

However, he doesn't. After settling the bill and taking his drink, he leaves through the door.

I spin around, my thoughts racing as I try to understand what happened. It's only when the server places a vanilla latte in front of me, a drink I never asked for, that I stare up at her in confusion.

"I don't think that's for me."

"The man who just came in bought a bottle of water and told me to bring it over to you, the girl with the smile that could light up the night sky."

My heart starts to race, and I feel as if it's about to burst out of my chest before it plunges into the pit of my stomach.

He remembered what I ordered the first time we were here.

"He said that?"

"Yeah, those were his words."

I don't know what I'm feeling right now. Am I mad that he's making me feel so lost? Or maybe I'm so desperately in love with him that all I want is to be close to him, and yet he didn't say a word to me. He bought me a drink but left me here as if I were a stranger.

Is he respecting my space, or does he think that buying me a vanilla latte can erase the fact that he doesn't want me and is moving on as if I never meant anything?

Fuck that thought right out the window.

I can't go back down the rabbit hole where I spent a long time wondering what more I could've done to make him happy or be the girl he was ready to lay his heart on the line for.

"He also asked me to give you this." She hands me a white napkin before walking away.

With a long breath, I carefully unfold it, instantly recognizing his handwriting.

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