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“Eli?” a voice said from behind me in line. “Is that you?”
I cringed, not fully recognizing the voice, other than knowing it was female. I could only imagine what face I was going to see. I turned around, my eyes landing on a petite brunette with a button nose and slender frame.
Alicia.
“Hey, how’re you?” I choked out at my ex-girlfriend—if she could even be called that. We had been on and off for a max of about three months. She had caught feelings, but I never did.
“I’m really good.” She flashed me a bright smile that made me feel absolutely nothing. She held up her left hand, showing off a ring. “Brian proposed a couple of months ago.”
“Ah yeah, that’s great. Congratulations,” I said with a nod, wishing the line would move a little faster. Brian had been one of her close guy friends in the time that we were a thing. I had always known that he was crazy about her, but honestly it had never phased me, not even a little...
And well, I guess it was a case of the good guy winning.
I was happy for him—and her.
“Yeah, thank you.” She continued to smile, searching my face. “How have things been for you?”
“Uh, fine, I guess,” I muttered, taking a few steps forward.
Her brows furrowed. “Just fine? I’ve never heard you talk like that. You’re always the ‘everything is cool’ guy.”
I chuckled, surprised to agree with her. “Yeah, I mean, everything is cool, I guess. I just have a lot going on with work and shit.”
“And shit?”
Jesus, why are women so freaking nosy?
“Yeah,” I grumbled, taking a deep breath.
“Is it...is it a girl?” The fascination in her voice was annoying.
I side-eyed her, hesitating a little too long.
“Oh my god, it is!”
My jaw tensed, and I considered just walking out right then. “I didn’t say that.”
“No, your face did—and I don’t think any woman has ever made you so grumpy in your life. It must be real this time. That’s the look like Brian always had when he was talking about me.”
“No,” I said, though I was growing more and more unsure. If there was any kind of Brian around Olivia, I would probably lose my shit. I couldn’t imagine some guy hanging around her the way Brian used to hang around Alicia.
Her dark brown eyes were wide. “Eli Whiss is having girl problems. I can’t believe it,” she continued to harp on. “Like, who is she? Some high-profile superstar? A model? Royalty? She’s gotta be something like that to have you hung up so hard.”
I shook my head. “She’s just...normal.”
Except for the fact that she wasn’t. She was the most exotic, confusing, intelligent, and beautiful woman I’d ever met—and now I was starting to become certain that something more was going on. I didn’t like it.
Alicia was nodding, her smile still plastered across her face. “This is so big. You know, you never cared at all about anything that I did when we were seeing each other, and I tried for the longest time to just tell myself that it was just how you were—but now, seeing you all bent out of shape over some woman, I know that it just wasn’t right. Not that I ever really thought it was. I just wasn’t going to turn down the chance to date a guy like you.”
“I get your point.” I looked away from her and toward the register, watching a group of seven or so women taking forever to order what they wanted.
Tourists.
“But do you?” She leaned forward, catching my attention. “Because the way you’re acting makes me think you’re in denial. I know that you kept me at arm’s length the entire time—but it isn’t hard to know your playboy ways. You saw us all as disposable, never wanting anything serious because we were ‘distractions.’”
“That makes me sound like a dick.”
“Well, if the shoe fits,” she retorted, giving me a look. “But really, I just don’t think you had met the right girl. A guy will do anything when he meets the one.”
