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Quinn:
You’re missing out on some stellar chicken wings.
I nibble at my lip as I reread Quinn’s earlier message once again. He’s been texting me on and off all afternoon. The little messages are putting a smile on my face.
Don’t run away from something because you’ve been hurt one too many times, and now you’re scared to open your heart.My best friend’s words ring in my mind and have been since she said them earlier.
So here I am, parked on campus, my whole body jittery from nerves. My mind is trying to reason why I shouldn’t turn around and run away.
“I’m not a coward,” I mutter, forcing my fingers to unclench from the steering wheel. I open the door and slide out of the car.
The campus is slowly awakening. In just a week or so, it’ll be buzzing with life once again when the first students start to come for orientation week.
When did the time fly, seriously? It feels like just yesterday I said goodbye to some of the volunteers for the summer break.
Grabbing my bag from the passenger seat, I close the door and lock the car. Turning on the balls of my feet, I look around, trying to figure out where exactly Moore’s is when I see him.
John.
It’s like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs. I haven’t even seen a glimpse of him ever since that day he came to the community center, and that was weeks ago.
He’s sitting out on the terrace of a coffee shop, that same girl I saw him leaving his office with weeks earlier beside him. My throat bobs as I swallow. I should turn around and walk away, but it’s like I’m frozen in place. My body is completely still. It’s like I’m a deer caught in the headlights, unable to move my gaze from the wreck that’s about to happen.
I watch John get to his feet and pull the girl’s chair out. His lips move as if he’s saying something. The girl tilts her head back and laughs, standing up. That’s when I see it—the bump.
Freaking hell.
Not only did he cheat, but he got her pregnant too? And from the looks of it, it’s been going on long enough for the pregnancy to actually show.
I knew he’d been unfaithful; it’s not like it’s something new. But that he’d been doing it formonths? It wasn’t just some hookup, some one-and-done kind of deal. This was deliberate.
It shouldn’t hurt. But it does.
I watch him place his hand on her lower back and steer her toward the parking lot. Toward me.
John looks up, his eyes meeting mine, and I can see his steps falter.
I lift my chin higher, biting the inside of my cheek to prevent my lip from wobbling. It’s not even that I’m heartbroken about what happened. I’m just pissed. Pissed I spent so much of my life on a man who didn’t deserve half of what I gave him—pissed that I’d been happier in the last few weeks than I’d ever been when I was with him for the past eight years.
With a shake of my head, I turn my back to him and walk away.
Crossing the street, I walk absentmindedly, my thoughts reeling. I’m so lost in my own head; I almost miss the sign for Moore’s.
I just stand and watch it for a moment.
This whole thing unsettled me. I should turn around, sit in my car, and go home. But that would mean going to the parking lot and possibly seeing John, which is the last thing I want.
Letting out a sigh, I go toward the bar. I’ll stay just for a little while until I’m sure he’s gone. Passing by a couple of guys smoking outside, I push open the door and enter the dark interior of the bar.
I blink a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the difference in lighting before scanning the space.
The bar is decorated in dark wood. A big bar spreads over one side of the space, leather booths and high-top tables filling the room. The walls are decorated with different sports memorabilia, big screens hanging above the bar show different games playing at the same time as the music plays in the background.
Considering this is a college bar and most of the students aren’t even on campus yet, there’s enough of a crowd as it is.
I look around, trying to find a familiar face as I walk between the tables toward the back.
