Page 352 of One More Kiss

Cole

It’s beenover a month since Jules came back to town and turned my world upside down. I can’t do anything without seeing her. I can’t visit my favorite breakfast spot because it’s somehow become her favorite breakfast spot. I can’t hang out at The Hole with Deac because she’s always there hanging out with Anna. I can’t go for a morning walk on the beach without passing her cabin and knowing she’s in there.

I mean, I guess I can go to all those places and do all those things. But I don’t want to see her. I don’t want to be reminded of her everywhere I go. I’ve spent years burying the past and I don’t want her coming back here digging it all up. Not that she’s tried to talk to me or even approach me since the morning of the race. It’s as if we’ve come to some unspoken agreement to avoid one another. I don’t know why she’s avoiding me. She’d seemed keen to talk that first day. But I’m glad she is. I don’t want to rehash things with her. It’s better if she spends the remainder of her visit away from me altogether.

Anna tried to get me to talk to her about Jules the other day. I know it’s driving her crazy to have her two friends so at odds. Plus, I know Anna loves to play matchmaker. She’d love nothing more than to see me and Jules pick up where we left off back in high school. But that’s never going to happen. I’d shut that shit down right away when she’d mentioned Jules the other day. Anna had looked annoyed but determined. I hate it when she turns that calculated gaze on me. It means she’s not going to give up until she gets what she wants. But she’s wrong on this one. She just needs to realize that.

I don’t like the person I’ve turned into since Jules came back to town. I avoid my friends. I go to work and go home most days. I used to see Deac a few nights a week when I’d stop by The Hole for dinner, but lately I’ve been cooking at home or grabbing drive through meals. So, I can add becoming a hermit to the list of things that have changed since Jules came back. Added to my short temper, it’s no wonder Deac and Anna haven’t gone out of their way to spend time with me these days.

By the time July 4th rolls around and the town festival is in full swing, I’m on edge every time I go out in public. This is a small town, but there are still a few thousand people living in it. Why can’t I seem to avoid the one I don’t want to see? Like clockwork, I see her ten minutes after I arrive at the festival. She’s laughing with Deac as they stand in line for cotton candy. I try to ignore her and keep walking before she can see me, but I find my gaze being drawn back to her again and again.

She’s wearing a pair of cut-off denim shorts that show off miles of tanned leg. Her white tank top stands out against all that tanned skin and her dark hair. She looks good. Damned good. And that fact pisses me off all over again. What right does she have to come back here after all these years and look so fucking gorgeous while she does? I watch as Deac hands her a fluffy pink ball of cotton candy, and she smiles up at him. My best friend. What the fuck? I’m not jealous. That’s not what this is. I know Deac doesn’t have a thing for Jules. He never has. But he also doesn’t know the first thing about bro code. Because he and I have been friends since before little Jules Scott first showed up in our second-grade class on the first day of school. So, it pisses me off even more that he seems to have chosen her friendship over mine. Asshole.

I make my way down the main aisle of the festival, barely seeing all the brightly colored crafts and art displays. Eventually, I realize that I’m probably scaring the little old ladies who are trying to sell crocheted blankets and that I should probably make myself scarce until I can get control of my emotions. I can’t hide from Jules forever. But I damned sure don’t have to follow her around like an idiot either.

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