Page 84 of Love or Leave

She'd only broken up with one other person, Cooper, and she'd been so angry with him at that point that she hadn't considered these things.

The memory of that breakup triggered her slightly, but she remembered where she was—with Jer on the other side of the bar. If Jalen turned mean like Cooper had, she could escape easily. Not that he would. Jalen was great.

He just wasn't her person.

"Hey," Jalen said, then pulled her into a tight hug.

She went with it, not sure what to do. He was acting as he always had, without a single inkling he was about to get dumped.

He pulled away and placed a kiss on her cheek. Before she could gather her thoughts, he was already nodding at Jer.

"Excuse me," he said, his hand in the air.

Jer turned and nodded.

"I’ll take a pint of the IPA," he said before turning back to Cara. "You like the IPA here, right?"

Cara's jaw went slack. She didn't know what to say.

Jalen turned back to Jer. “Make that two, please.”

Luckily, Jer seemed to sense her panic and stepped in. "You got it," he said, staying at the end of the bar without moving.

That would buy her a bit of time but she’d need to pull the trigger. Quick.

"Jalen," Cara started, pausing for him to look at her.

He twisted on his stool and smiled. "Yeah?"

"I think you're really great," she said, easing into it, trying to remember what she'd read on how to break up with someone honestly and respectfully.

Jalen gave her a smile. "You, too."

"And I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want and need."

He leaned in closer, and his grin widened. "Me, too," he said. "I think I know what you're going to ask me."

Wait.What?

"What I’m going to ask you?"

Jalen nodded. "I wondered if you weren't down to move forward, physically, because you want to be official first."

Cara’s eyes became dry, and she realized it was because they were open unnaturally wide. Did he think she was going to ask to be his girlfriend?

Shit.

"No, that's not…" she paused, trying desperately to gather her thoughts instead of saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Wait," Jalen said, finally cluing into her general demeanor and awkwardness. "Are you breaking this off?"

Cara sighed and nodded with a wince.

Jalen's face was a mask of shock. "But we… We're so alike."

She fought off the urge to slap her palm to her face.

The article said she should be honest and respectful, so telling him the truth would probably be the best course of action. She'd just blame herself and say she wasn't being honest about her hobbies, rather than emphasize how little he even seemed to care about who she actually was.

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