Page 108 of Getting Over You

I shrug. “I thought she’d like to know.”

“I would have liked to know the truth, too, if we’re talking about being honest.”

I guffaw. “What would that have done? Nothing. Look, Gigi’s gone. I screwed everything up just like I knew I would. That’s the end of it. Time to move on to the next thing.”

“The next girl, you mean.”

I shoot EJ a look. “I move on quickly. Sue me.”

“I wouldn’t call whatever you’re doing today moving on.”

“I’ll prove it to you. I made an appointment to get some ink to drown my sorrows. Nothing a tattoo can’t fix.”

EJ sighs. “I’m just pointing out the extremely obvious here, buddy: if you didn’t care about Gigi, if she was just another girl,you wouldn’t have told Mom about her. You ever tell Mom about any other girl you’ve screwed?”

I sigh. “No.”

“All I’m saying,” EJ tells me, “is that your problem seems clear to everyone but you, and has a rather easy fix.”

“I can’t fix anything,” I say. “She’s gone.”

“So, what’s your plan? Do tell.”

“Get a new tattoo and get a new girl,” I say, “just like I always do.”

I get a heart permanently etched onto my body to remind myself that I might still have one beating in my chest, despite feeling otherwise. Then I ask the girl from Murphy’s to meet me back there for a nightcap.

“I’d like to really get to know each other over dinner,” she murmurs, running well-manicured fingers up my leg after a few drinks. “If you’re offering.”

I completely destroy our potential hookup, and now she wants dinner? That’s different. Then again, I called her here, so who’s the real fuck up?

“It would be the gentlemanly thing to do,” I reply. “To take you to dinner.”

“Are you a gentleman, Cade?” Ava croons.

I have a choice to make. “Depends on who wants to know.”

“What if I don’t want a gentleman?”

“Then maybe,” I trail my gaze down her body, “I am the guy for you, after all.”

I picture Gigi rolling her eyes at me. The thought makes any arousal I had toward Ava vanish. Just like that. My heart squeezes.

“I had a friend,” I say before I realize words are actually coming from my mouth and not confined to my head, “who wanted to teach me how to date, be a gentleman. She—they’re convinced I’m too far gone.”

“Dinner, then?” Ava challenges with a raise of her eyebrow. “To prove your friends wrong?”

“Dinner,” I agree, putting my beer to my lips. “Sure.”

Chapter thirty-six

Ihave to work the day after Mom and Eddy show up. Seeing Belinda isnoton my list of desires, but I won’t be doing it much longer.

It’s nearing the end of my shift, and I’m getting antsy, watching the clock slowly creep to two in the afternoon. Right at two, I’m ready to get out. I hang my apron, tuck my earbuds into my pocket, and then Belinda is walking in, leaning against the counter, blocking my way to the exit.

“Hi,” she says softly.

“Hello,” I reply, curt. She hasn’t tried to talk to me directly since the dinner at her house. Instead, I get frustrated mumbles as she shuffles around the diner, picking up the slack that she created. I’m not particularly interested in starting a conversation now. Or ever. Especially not right before I tell her I quit. No point in continuing to work here if I’m not saving for anything. I don’t need the money anymore.

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