Page 7 of Bad at Love
I gesture to the couch. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“No,” she says firmly, chin raised. “I’d rather stand.”
Oh, she knows.
“Look,” I tell her, rubbing my hand at the back of my neck. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a while and I’m just going to come out and say it.” I glance at her warily. Her features have hardened into stone. She looks formidable. And that easygoing attitude is gone.
“Say it,” she says.
“I think we should see other people.”
Like a Band-Aid.Right off.
She raises an eyebrow. “Is that what you think?”
“Yes.”
She shakes her head slightly, then shrugs. “If that’s what you want. I don’t mind.”
I study her, confused by her answer. “You don’tmind?”
She walks over to the couch and sits down, legs together, hands folded in her lap as she stares up at me with a blank expression. “I’m okay with this, so long as we get to see each other still.”
Ah, shit.
I rub my lips together and cock my head. “Well…”
Her eyes widen. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“Yes. I guess I didn’t sayit right, but?—”
“You’re breaking up withme?”
“I’m sorry. I really wanted it to work out, Simone. I care about you a lot.”
“You’renotbreaking up with me.”
Okay. This isn’t going like I thought. Usually the girl is crying by now, not arguing with me.
“I know it’s hard to hear and believe me it’s hard for me to say?—”
“Bullshit, Laz,” she says. “I think I know you better than you know yourself.”
“I really don’t think that’s true.” If anything, I’m a guy who holds all his cards close to his chest. Like, really fucking close.
“You’re not breaking up with me,” she repeats. “End of story.”
Bloody hell.
“Look…” I tell her, trying to find the right words without being a total arse. “Simone. You’re one of the longest relationships I’ve ever had. I care about you. I like you. I like what we had, but that’s only because we’re quitting at the right time.”
“Oh, I ain’t quitting.”
“Right. But the thing is…we need to break up.”
“I disagree.”
I can’t help but laugh. “This isn’t something we can have a disagreement about. I don’t want to be in a relationship with you anymore. Okay? I mean, I’m sorry, I really am. It stings to say. But this is it.”
