Page 83 of Love or Leave

twenty-three

Cara sat on a high stool at Willow's bar and fiddled with her bracelet. She'd only been there for about thirty seconds, but the idea of seeing Jalen already made her sweaty.

She wanted to end things over text, but before she could find the words, he'd messaged her and asked if she wanted to go to a golf simulator with him and his friends that weekend.

It was incredibly tempting to just ghost him, quit golf lessons, and pray she never ran into him at the grocery store, but she really didn't want to be that person. So she asked him to meet her at the brewery for a quick drink that night and he replied,Looking forward to it!

Ugh, the exclamation mark made her panic. Maybe if she hadn't done everything he wanted, he would have known they weren't compatible. But she'd played this sporty golf girl role with him and now he seemed to be way deeper into this than she was.

She couldn't wait to get this breakup over with so she could move on to bigger and better things.

Like Antonio.

"Care-bear," Jer said, finally seeing her at the bar.

He came over with a smile.

"Jer-bear," she said, trying to sound casual.

Jer's smile dropped. "What's wrong?"

"I'm meeting someone."

He wagged his eyebrows. "A sexy someone?"

"Yes, but I'm breaking up with him."

Jer's brows shot up, and he seemed to think for a second. "Is this the Jalen I've heard so much about?"

Cara nodded.

"It's over?"

"Oh yeah," she said. She considered telling him why but didn't want to jump the gun and tell anyone before Max knew.

She was still waiting to hear from Antonio. He'd told her he wanted to talk to Max alone about it first, which she thought was kind of silly, but she went along with it.

"Is this gonna be messy?" Jer asked.

Cara shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm just nervous."

She figured it would be fine. They'd only been on a few dates. But it was nice to have Jer on the other side of the bar for moral support.

Jer nodded. "Break up with him before he orders. That way, he won't stay here to drink his beer all awkwardly."

Cara smiled. "Good call."

"I'll take some time before I come over, and I won't pour it for a while to give you a chance to say what you need to say."

Her shoulders loosened, and she let go of her bracelet. "Thanks."

The door opened behind her and Cara turned toward it just as Jalen walked in. He spotted her and smiled, closing the distance between them in a few long strides.

Here we go.

"You got this," Jer whispered, then took a few steps away to the end of the bar.

She hopped off the stool as Jalen approached, then panicked. How the hell was she supposed to greet him? Give him a hug? Shake his hand?

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