Page 31 of Penalized Love

“Oh, that’s so nice of you to offer,” I say, my voice trembling slightly but enough that I want to roll my eyes at myself. The unexpected act of kindness has thrown me for a loop. I clear my throat before I continue. “But if you’re about to leave, I don’t want you to be waiting here on me.”

“It’s not an issue. I wouldn’t have come over if it was.”

“Uh, okay. I’d love a…. hot chocolate.”

Hailey gives a small nod at my request. “One hot chocolate, coming right up.” With that, she heads back behind the counter to make my drink.

While she’s busy making my drink, I return to checking my phone. No new messages, but the time indicates that Asher should be here any minute now. And that doesn’t do a thing to calm me down.

“Here you go, one hot chocolate.” Hailey sets the steaming mug down in front of me a few minutes later. “Can I get you anything else?”

I hesitate, touched by her offer, but not wanting to drag her into what is about to happen. “Thanks, but that’s it. Let me pay you.”

Hailey raises a hand and shakes her head. “No need, it’s on the house. And if you want to grab coffee or lunch sometime, let me know. It’d be nice to have another friend around who gets the whole hockey world thing.”

“Really? That would be great,” I say, surprised by the offer. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Perfect. Let me give you my number,” she says as she pulls out her phone from her back pocket. “Just shoot me a text whenever you’re free.”

“Oh, how about this Sunday?” I blurt out. How eager of me.

“That would be great.”

We exchange numbers, and Hailey gives me a small wave before heading back behind the counter to clock out. I wrap my hands around the warm mug, letting the heat seep into my skin as I take a hesitant sip. The rich, velvety chocolate coats my tongue, providing a momentary distraction from the thoughts clouding my mind.

Just as I set the mug back down, the bell above the door jingles again, signaling that someone is walking in or out of thecoffee shop. My heart leaps into my throat as I look up to see Asher walking in, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hockey hoodie. Our eyes meet across the room, and for a moment, everything else fades away. A quick glance down at my phone confirms he is right on time.

He makes his way over to my table, and as he pulls out the chair across from me and sits down, I can’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes. I don’t remember seeing them the last time we saw each other. It makes me wonder if he didn’t sleep well the night before.

Join the club.

Not that his sleeping habits are any of my business...

“Hey,” he says. His voice is a little lower than normal. “Thanks for meeting me.”

I nod, my fingers tightening around the mug. “Of course. You are right in that we need to talk, especially since we’ll see a lot of each other now that I’m back.”

His gaze lands on the cup in my hand as I take another sip, allowing the warmth from the drink to soothe me. He studies me as I finish taking another sip, causing me to raise an eyebrow. “Do you want something to drink?”

“No, I’m good. I have my water bottle.”

Makes sense. “Hailey, Levi’s girlfriend, actually served me. She seems nice.”

Asher chuckles, and I hate that I’m transported back to a time when we used to laugh with one another. “She can be. Levi and she are ‘couples goals’ or something like that.”

I smile at his words. It’s a small, involuntary reaction that I quickly regret. Why am I sharing any of this with him? It’s because I used to tell him anything and everything before he broke my heart. Old habits die hard, I guess.

Instead of saying something else, I take another sip of my hot chocolate. As much as I want to act like things are like they used to be, I know I can’t. Too much has changed between us.

He ruined us.

Asher clears his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “So, about what happened when we broke up…” He trails off, his eyes searching mine for a reaction.

I set my mug down because it is nothing but a distraction, anyway. “We didn’t break up. You broke up with me and gave a bullshit excuse.” The words don’t come out quite the way I planned, but here they are.

Asher’s jaw tics at my words, but I can see he’s trying to control his emotions. “It wasn’t a bullshit excuse, Isla. I had my reasons.”

“And what were those, exactly? Because from where I was standing, it seemed like you just decided one day that you were done with me. With us.”

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