Page 21 of Bad at Love
“We broke up,” I tell him.
He guffaws. Crunch. Crunch. “You mean you broke up with her.”
“Same difference, isn’t it?” I tell him, about to leave the room to get a glass of water, thanks to his talks about hydration, when my phone beeps with an incoming text.
It’s Marina.
I breathe out a sigh of relief. I thought that maybe she was avoiding me after what I proposed yesterday.
I pick up the phone, Scooby losing interest in me and wandering back down the hall, and read it.
Hey, wondered if you had time to talk.
I suck in a breath. Talk. If weweredating, this wouldn’t be a good sign.
What about?
She responds back right away:You know what.
Are you already breaking up with me?I text. A joke, but still.
LOL. No. The opposite.
Oh really…
Want to come over?I ask.
Sure. When?
Anytime. Now.
I’ll be there in an hour. Should I bring anything?
Just that gorgeous arse of yours,I write, then quickly erase it. Instead, I send:
Just you. See you then.
I put the phone back on the desk and immediately sit down in the chair, picking up the pen. A rush of euphoriagoes through me, just a quick burst, but it’s enough for my pen to move.
There is a layer of terror under honey so sweet, the barb that always gets you when you plunge your hands in, sticky and raw with the promise of everything.
I sit back and glance at it. Not bad. Not great. But it’s something.
“Hi,”Marina says brightly as I open the door. She’s smiling but it’s a bit shaky, like she’s already nervous. Not that this would be an unusual state for her.
“Hey,” I say back, opening the door wider and gesturing for her to come in.
Damn. Maybe it’s in my head, but I swear there’s already this bizarre tension between us.
“Hey,” Scooby says to Marina from the kitchen. Somehow, he still has a cucumber. I’m guessing there are multiple. “Cucumber?” He sticks it out toward her in offering.
She frowns at him. “No thanks. Already had one.”
“I can slice it up for you, if you’d like.”
“I’m good,” she says, giving him a quick smile and then looking to me with a bemused expression. “Should we go somewhere private and talk?”
“Oh,” Scooby says loudly. “I didn’t know you guys needed, uh,privacy. Hey, I’ll be quiet. Really. I’m going to my room. You cats do whatever you need to do. There are more cucumbers in the fridge if you want.”
