Page 67 of Anti Player

“Gotcha,” she says, forking some salad.

We eat quietly for a few minutes.

“I want to see you happy. Connor was a single dad too. Everything was about Syd, but people are meant to be in relationships. To fall in love.”

“That’s been my problem since I was a teenager. I fall in love too easily. I trust too fast. I always get screwed over. This thing with Kaleb was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be a quick fling. My heart isn’t supposed to be on the line. I’m supposed to be in control,” I explain.

Ellie watches me thoughtfully. “There’s a saying that you need to kiss a few frogs before you meet your prince.”

“That’s a fairy tale, not real life. My father was a big jerk to our mother. Kaleb’s father completely walked away. Relationships don’t last,” I tell her. “I know you probably think I’m a cynic but I’m not. I’m a realist.”

She frowns but there is a hint of a smile embedded inside it. “My family was totally dysfunctional so I get where you’re coming from, but there are good people out there,” she shares.

“Kaleb is a good person. Don’t misunderstand me. We just don’t match. We aren’t meant to be together,” I argue, even though it falls flat to my own ears.

“Okay.” She shrugs. “You know how you feel. Maybe I want to shine the bliss I’m feeling on others.”

“That is sweet of you, and it means a lot to me that you care.”

“Well, if you need to talk, you know my number,” she says. “Wait, did you say you might not be staying in the city?”

I nod. “I applied to go back to school in the fall. Well, if I get accepted. I’ve applied to a couple of culinary schools here in the city. They are the top ones in the country so it’s really competitive. I also applied to this culinary school in Texas. There are two famous French chefs who run it, and it would really be a dream for me.”

“That is very exciting,” she says. “I get what it’s like to be passionate about something. I’m an artist. I paint but I haven’t found my groove yet.”

We sit and eat quietly, finishing off our food.

“I heard you and Asher are coming to Florida,” she says, changing the subject.

“I don’t really know the details. Brett is kind of booking everything for us,” I explain.

“It’s going to be so great for the kids. The hotel has a mini waterpark. It’s also on the boardwalk and the beach is nearby. The kids will love it.”

“Sounds like a dream,” I admit.

We finish eating lunch and we pay the bill. We head out onto the street and walk into some stores. Ellie and I try on some dresses she says will be great for Florida. We each buy one in different colors. Then we enter another store and buy bikinis. It’s nice to just hang out and be carefree.

After our little shopping spree, we head back to the apartment. She gets off on her floor and I get off on mine, but I don’t go straight to Brett’s. I knock on Kaleb’s door instead.

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

Kaleb

There’s a knock on the door but I can barely pick up my head. Go away. Whoever it is doesn’t relent.

I get a text.

Maddie:Are you home? I’m outside your door.

I contemplate not answering. Brett and Asher didn’t have food poisoning, they had the stomach flu, and I spent the morning puking.

I don’t answer the door or her text. My cell rings and Maddie’s name lights the screen. I can’t answer because we need to call this thing quits. I am falling for her and that was not part of the plan. She has her life to live and so do I.

My cell doesn’t stop ringing and I finally give in.

“Hello.”

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