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ETHAN
We get back to the hotel and I help Amanda and Senna pack up before they head to the airport.
Senna half-heartedly throws a few items into his backpack as I help Amanda finish packing everything else up. Once done, I glance over to see Senna lying on the bed, glued to his handheld video game console.
“Bye, bud. See you soon, okay?”
He nods but doesn’t answer, so I walk over and tease him, “I get a hug or your video game.” With a sigh, he leans over and gives me a side hug while still playing.
I will take what I can get.
I bid Amanda goodbye as well, keeping quiet about my plans for tonight. But judging by the comment she makes as I leave, I know she knows something.
“I saw you talking to Mia…” Her voice trails off.
“Yeah?” I stand, leaning my shoulder against the wall. “So what?”
“It was intense!” she says, a hint of surprise in her tone.
But I just shrug and nonchalantly say, “We’re getting together later tonight to talk, that’s all.”
Amanda crosses her arms and smiles her know-it-all smile. “That’s all?”
“Look…” I scratch the back of my head. “You put ideas in my head, okay? And you know I’m stupid enough to follow them. She’s still my brother’s ex, and it’s weird, but I am curious to see if we can hit it off somehow.”
Amanda just smiles.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she replies.
“How long have you thought she and I would make a good match?” I ask, curious.
Amanda bobs her head around as she thinks. “Awhile,” she confesses. “I knew she and Ryan wouldn’t work out. You could tell they were both just comfortable, especially him. Anyway, she was always so good with Senna, and I do like her. I felt she could be something who could make you happy, and you deserve that.”
At her downcast stare, I immediately walk over to her.
“We were happy for a while,” I say.
She nods her head and sighs wistfully. “But it didn’t work out,” she finally says and shrugs, as if admitting defeat.
I step closer and reach for her hands. Looking deep in her eyes, I say, “It worked out just fine for almost ten years. Sometimes good things come to an end, okay?”
Amanda smiles softly. “Go and have a good time. Senna and I need to head out in a moment.”
“Alright,” I say with a nod. “Text me when you two make it back home.”
I close the door carefully behind me, then stride towards the elevators, trying to rein in my excitement when I catch sight of my silly grin in the elevator mirror.
I head back to my hotel room to rest before ordering some room service. Mia had told me to meet her around 11 tonight. About fifteen minutes before, I get ready to head over, feeling a bit nervous.
I remind myself this is just a conversation, nothing more. I don’t want to get hurt, and I certainly don’t want to hurt anyone else.
I pause and think about what I know of Mia. It isn’t much. She’s hard-working, a beautiful woman with long brown hair, clear blue eyes and the body of a gymnast. She was devoted to Ryan until the very end.
Ryan claims they parted amicably, attributing it to her reluctance to move to New York with him. But the family knows the real reason—it was his fear of commitment that drove her away.
The elevator doors open onto the terrace. Inside the restaurant, soft ambient music plays beneath gentle lighting and cozy décor.
