Page 47 of 28 Dates

Jonas leans toward me, arms crossed on the bar. His head tilts in an adorable way, eyes playful, hand scratching along his jaw. “He does?”

Man. It really sucks I’ll probably never have another shot at him. I’m not even still sure I want a relationship, but this whole dating thing has really twisted my head. Granted, I haven’t given a whole lot of guys a shot at winning my heart over the years, and I don’t regret it, but Jonas is the one guy who, when I’m ready, might be able to handle me.

I’d like for him to handle me in a lot of different ways, which makes my reburgeoning crush on him a really bad idea.

I wave my hand. I’m being silly and weird and there’s always a risk of taking it too far. “I’m just kidding.” While we eat, I give him the quick story of Tucker not willing to shag a girl on Sundays, and then conversation stills.

I’m always comfortable with Jonas. Even when we spent time together, we didn’t always spend it talking. Obviously there were other things on our minds back in those days, but hanging out with him at the bar has always been easy. But there’s something different about it now. Flirting with him has always been like second nature. Which is probably why I’m being weirder with Tucker. Spending so much time around Corbin and Trey has made giving guys a hard time the natural thing for me to do.

Perhaps it’s the drink and the loneliness and the fact the guy I was interested in ditched me.

I sigh and take a sip of my drink. “I should probably get going.”

“Why?” Jonas asks. “I don’t mind hanging out. In fact, I’m having a good time with you.”

His smile shoots a warmth to my chest, and it spreads outward.Wrong! Wrong.Wrong.It’s so wrong for me to feel this way about him when he’s made it clear to me I’m now, forever his friend.

I don’t know if I can handle this anymore. I push off my stool and grab my purse.

“Caitlin—”

Is that hurt in his eyes? I have to be imagining it. “I’ll be back, I need the restroom.”

“Oh. Okay. But you’ll come back and hang out?” His grin trembles, and he gestures toward the food he’s brought out. “Someone has to help me eat this.”

“I’ll stay. At least until the food is gone.”

Turning on my heel, I hitch my purse strap over my shoulder and hurry through the bar. This is madness. I should probably leave. I don’t know if spending time with Jonas is good for my heart anymore. It hurts, this unfamiliar pain in my chest like someone’s stepping on me whenever he’s near.

And he still hasn’t even mentioned that he and Ashley broke up. Not that it’s my business, but why did he lie about it when he was at my place?

I use the restroom and head back to him slowly, trying to figure out what in the heck is wrong with me, when I pull to a sudden stop halfway back to Jonas.

Ashley. She’s here. Her hair is pulled into a high ponytail, and beneath her coat, I can see her blue scrubs. Jonas is now on his feet, hands limp at his sides, and while there’s only a few feet between them, there might as well be a mile based on both of them looking so tense. Ashley adjusts her glasses, says something I’m much too far away to hear, and then holds out her hand.

With her other hand, she adjusts her glasses and looks away from Jonas toward a wall. Her outstretched hand moves to the bar, and she places something on it before shoving her hand into her coat pocket.

More talking. More awkward, tense gestures. It occurs to me I’m stuck, standing in the middle of the mostly empty restaurant. Behind me, the women at the table are talking, their high-pitched voices an irritating buzz in my ear, but I can’t move. I can’t stroll up to Jonas and Ashley in the middle of whatever they’re discussing, and there’s nowhere to go.

Awesome.

Jonas takes a step toward her, and her back straightens. Lips tremble. She lifts her hand and turns. And as she does, she faces me. Her eyes widen for a moment, and she nods.

I lift my hand lamely in the air, and I’m still frozen to my spot, gawking at them like an idiot, when she spins on her heels and hurries out the door. She’s gone so quickly she’s practically vanished into thin air.

What the heck? Movement at the bar grabs my attention, and I watch Jonas. He’s looking right at me, lips pulled to one side. I can’t keep standing here. But, yay—isn’t this just a pile of awkward I’m stepping into?

“You okay?” I ask, as I get closer to him.

Jonas’s back is straight and tight, a muscle popping in his jaw. He reaches out to the bar and grabs something. It’s gold, dull, and takes me a second to realize it’s a key.

“Ashley and I broke up.” He tucks the key into his pocket and sits down at the bar. Dropping his head into his hands, he shakes his head, pushes back his hair.

I drop my purse on the bar top and slide into my chair. “I know. Sara told me a while ago.”

His head whips toward me so fast it’s clear I’ve surprised him. “Right. Yeah, it was a while ago. She was just returning my key. God, I feel like a dick.”

My curiosity gets the better of me. I can’t help it. She’s the girl he met that he liked enough to try to get me to take things further. What was it she had that was so special, and why didn’t it work?

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