Page 115 of Mr. Swoony

He runs a hand through his hair and down the back of his head, pulling at his neck. “I just…” He looks around the coffee shop, and I’m sure there are a lot of eyes on us, maybe even some phones out at this point. “Can we please just go home so I can explain this all?”

I watch as the girl places her hand on his back. My hands clench into fists to stop myself from ripping her arms from her body. “You finish up here and meet me afterward. I’ll give you fifteen minutes before I pack up my stuff and leave.”

“I’m coming with you.” He puts his hand on the small of my back.

I step to the side so it falls away. He sighs.

“Pinkie!” the brunette says as we walk away.

Conor stops and turns around. “You’ve fucked with my life long enough, and I swear to God.” He leans closer to her. “If I lose her because of you, I’m going to make your life just as miserable as you’ve made mine. We were never a couple. You were never my girlfriend.”

She swallows, and her eyes fill with tears, making me actually feel bad for her. Unlike when I first got here, I don’t think he has anything going on with her. But at the same time, I want answers. I want to know why he would lie to me.

Thankfully, she doesn’t follow. Conor walks in line with me, but he doesn’t try to hold my hand or touch me. He keeps his hands in his pockets until we get to the security gate of the Nest. He punches in the code, and once we’re in the condo, he sees the cake and his shoulders sink.

“Talk,” I say, waiting for him to tell me who exactly the brunette is.

Forty-Seven

Conor

I’m going to lose her if I don’t start talking, but I don’t know where to start.

“Oh my god, Conor… just tell me.” When I still don’t say anything, she cocks her hip out. “Should I call you Pinkie? Would that help to get your lips moving?”

“Why were you baking a cake?” I ask.

She crosses her arms again. “It was for you, but now I think it’s going to be for me to wallow in after the big fight we’re about to get into.”

My chin hits my chest. “I don’t deserve the cake.”

“No, I don’t think you do. And if you don’t start talking soon, I’m going to leave.”

“I slept with her,” I finally confess.

She gasps. “When?”

My eyes fly up because I am a fucking idiot. That was a shit way to start this conversation. “Over a year ago. Back in Florida.”

Her shoulders fall, and she rounds the couch, sitting down. “Continue.”

I walk into the family room and sit in the chair adjacent to her. “I gave her my phone number to hook up again, but I was never interested in dating her. I saw her at the bar we used to hang out at after the games, called Carmelo’s. I had a good game one night, got a little drunk, and went home with her. After that, she acted as if we were in a relationship. She’d message me day and night, and when I stopped responding and blocked her, she sent me gifts at the arena. She found out where I lived, and she left stuff there for me. I found her on my porch after a game at two in the morning. I tried to be nice, but she just didn’t seem to get the point. I eventually changed my number and moved. In the end, I had to file a restraining order against her, and she was banned from the games.” I scratch the back of my head.

Eloise doesn’t say anything but crosses her legs, waiting for me to continue.

“She got into the parking lot once and broke into my car, was waiting for me naked in the back seat. I called the cops, and she was arrested. It stopped after that, and I ended up getting traded and put it all behind me.”

“So, let’s fast forward to you lying and telling me she was just a fan when I caught you with her the first time. And then you telling me you were at the gym today when you were having coffee with her.” She waves for me to speak.

I’m so mad that Lila put me in this position. My life was on track. Eloise and I were doing so well, then bam! Sure, I fucked up by not filling Eloise in, but if Lila would’ve just backed off, it wouldn’t be an issue.

“The first time she reached out when I was here was when she sent a picture in the mail.”

She sighs, and her head falls back against the couch. “When we got back from camping?”

I nod.

“That’s when you started acting all weird. Where is it?” She crosses her arms.

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