Page 15 of Just One More Shot

She looks up at me, “Well he’s lying. He might have been under the impression we were getting back together, but I don’t want him.” She looks like she's about to cry.

“Well then why did you bring him back to our home? He cheated on you Elise. You caught him in the ACT.” I say.

A tear falls down her cheek. I want to grab her and hold her but I am so upset with her right now. “I was upset that you went out with Camden tonight. I was angry and jealous. But I was also influenced by alcohol.” I nod my head and look away from her.

She continues, “So, are you not going to say anything?”

I close my eyes and rub my temples. “Did you sleep with him?”

She answers quickly. “No, I didn’t. I stopped it before it got too far. Did you fuck Camden?” She asks and I look up at her.

“I didn’t fuck Camden, El. I didn’t even kiss him. It didn’t feel right, and he wasn’t you.” More tears fall down her face.

“Then why did you go out with him tonight? What was the point?”

I don’t miss a beat “Because I was hurt El! I thought you didn’t want me the way I want you.”

She shakes her head “What do you mean? Of course I want you! I told you that I told Nick that I had moved on with someone else. What part of that sounded like I didn’t want you? To me that sounds like I want more than just to experiment with you.” I sit there for a moment thinking about how much of an idiot I am.

“But you didn’t tell him it was me. You let him think it was another guy. I thought you were embarrassed to tell him that I was the one you had moved on with.” She walks over to me in front of the bed, and cups my face, wiping the tears that are now streaking my face.

“I didn’t tell him it was you because I was unsure of how you felt about me. I am not embarrassed to let people know we are together. You are my best friend.”

I contemplate my next words for a few minutes while we sit in silence. “I think I need a few days to think. This is a lot El.” It pains me to say that but I'm hurting right now. Yes, I want to be with her and work this out but, I just need a moment to breathe.

“Yeah, alright. Maybe that's for the best right now.” I nod and stand up.

Before I head to my room, I kiss her cheek. “Let's talk in a few days. I just need time. Goodnight.”

She looks at me with sad eyes. “Okay. Goodnight.”

Elise

It has been two days since Caleigh told me she wanted to process everything. Which, I am fine with, I'm just getting impatient. I miss her so much. It’s not like we haven’t seen each other, I mean we do live together. But we haven’t slept in the same bed or had any in depth conversations. Mostly me asking questions, and her giving me a short one or two worded answer. I decided that right now is the time to tell her we need to talk because I cannot take the silence any longer.

I check the time on my phone, it is 8:30 am. She should be getting ready for work right now. I climb out of bed, go to the bathroom to run a brush through my hair and brush my teeth.

I hurry out of my room and down the hall. I put my ear to her door and hear the faint sound of her moving around. Taking a deep breath, I tap on the door lightly. At first, I think she didn’t hear me, but a beat later she's opening the door.

She is half dressed, with workout leggings, a sports bra, and her hair pulled up in a high ponytail. “Is everything okay?”

She looks at me tiredly. “Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you if you had a minute.”

She shakes her head. “Actually, I am running late. Can it wait until tonight after work?” She is lying. She doesn’t have to be to work until 10 am, but I suck it up and don’t question her.

“Yeah, sure. It can wait.” I walk back to my room to get ready for work.

We have been dead today at the bookstore. Every ten minutes I have been looking at my phone to see if Caleigh has messaged me. The only person who has messaged me is Hallon asking me if I wanted anything from the coffee shop.

I am shelving books when I hear the door ding. “I’ll be out in one second!”

I hear a familiar voice that I can’t quite place it say “No rush, I am just looking around.”

I hurry up and finish what I am doing, turn the corner and I smack into a hard chest. I step back and look up, it's Damon. “I am so sorry; I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” I huff.

He smirks “It's okay. I didn’t realize you worked here.”

“I actually own the place. I bought it almost three years ago now.” I smile. “Is there something I can help you look for?” I start walking to the counter and he follows.

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