Page 61 of Getting Over You

Chapter twenty-one

First, he accosts me in his room. Then he says I’m dangerous and recommends I invite my boyfriend to our party. Shane and I broke things off, and I haven’t said a word about it to Cade. I don’t intend to—at least not right now. It provides some necessary distance and boundaries. Cade Deans has made me nothing if not an unreasonable mess.

He avoided me for days.

What does he do once he’s done giving me the silent treatment? Ask me to take him on dates. Kiss me on a Ferris wheel—get on a Ferris wheel to appease me, even though he’s apparently afraid of heights.

Shane and I broke up the night after the Ferris wheel incident.

We grabbed sandwiches from a shop on the boardwalk and found a picnic table on a nearby patio overlooking the beach. Shane kept looking at the water, refusing to look at me. I was waiting for him to say it.

“Is everything okay?”

He took a shaky breath. “Gigi—”

I knew that tone. Marcus used that tone. “You’re ending this, aren’t you?”

Shane sighed. “It’s not—look, you’re a great girl. You’re so funny.”

“If you don’t want to see me anymore…” My eyes ached with impending tears, my throat burning. Just like Marcus, Shane got what he wanted from me and told me to keep the rest. Rejection hurts. Even if I was planning on ending things, regardless.

“I’m not…” He hesitated. “I don’t know how to—”

“It’s fine,” I said. At that point, I was excited, knowing I was free. Knowing I could explore everything with Cade. Knowing I could have Cade if I wanted to and not think twice about the implications.

He visibly recoiled, like he could tell I was actually happy about what was coming next. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” he said softly. “When we first started dating, I enjoyed being with you. The nights in my studio—I really care about you, Gigi. I just—”

I stared at him, stone faced. “It’s just not working anymore, right?”

He averted his gaze, sheepish. “After your friend met us at the boardwalk that night on our date, you haven’t been the same. I tried to rationalize, tell myself you’d come back. But you haven’t, and I can’t wait.”

Wait. He’s dumping me because of Cade? CadefuckingDeans is the reason I’m getting tossed aside?

“Are you talking about Cade? We’re just friends. In fact, I can’t stand him.”

“You spend a lot of time with a friend that you can’t stand,” he says. “You got a random tattoo with him. I think any guy who wants a relationship with you would have a problem with that.”

The realization hit me in the face. “I didn’t get a tattoowithhim. It’s not—” There’s no point in fighting this. He’d made his decision, I’d made my mistakes. Now I have to make them right.

I chose my person long ago. And it’s not Shane.

“I’m sorry,” I told Shane then.

“I like you,” he said, smiling gently. “But who you’re becoming… It isn’t my type. No offense? Is there a way for me to say that and not sound like the world’s most douchiest douche?”

I know I’m not Shane’s type anymore. Because I’m becoming Cade Deans’ type, whether I want to be or not.

But Shane didn’t have to know that. So, I kept it all to myself.

A few days after the breakup, Cade asked me about a dinner date. A practice run, he’d said. We went to the same restaurant Shane took me to on our first date. Cade wore an all-black suit. I’d never seen a man in an all-black suit until that night. It made me realize that I never want to see another man in a suit again.

I thought he was going to kiss me after dinner. I wanted him to, more than I needed air. With his body pressed into mine against the brick and all the wine muddling our thoughts, it was the perfect recipe for a night together.

But Cade didn’t kiss me. He didn’t even try. He let me move away from his grasp and ended it there.

Cade Deans is an enigma—and for some reason, I’m determined to figure him out. But I can’t start now.

“What are the chances you could buy the stuff for the party?” EJ peers at us over Beach Brew’s espresso machine. I can barely hear him over a coffee grinder whirring.

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