Page 75 of It Should Have Been Me

My reaction is instantaneous. No buildup. No warning. I just burst into tears. “JP.” It’s a strangled whisper, catching behind the tight knot in my throat. “What are you doing here?”

Isa’s eyes stay pinned on us, nervous and anxious as she watches everything unfold.

“I couldn’t wait to see you and I told you I wanted to spend some time with your family before we fly back, so I asked the gallery to move up my exhibition, then decided to fly over early to surprise you. And when I saw how many missed calls and messages you left on my phone, I knew I had to get here quick. Keith was kind enough to keep it a secret and pick me up from the airport.” More tears spill out of me, and I’m desperately trying not to gasp out the pain constricting my airwaves right now. He crosses the pathway and meets me on the sidewalk, placing both hands on my shoulders. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m just...I’m just so...happy to see you,” I choke out.

I can’t see Scott, but I feel his body tense behind me. JP leans in to kiss me, and I subtly turn to give him my cheek instead. I can’t kiss another man when the memory of Scott’s lips is still lingering on my own. I’m thankful that JP is not the affectionate type. He’s quite reserved with public displays of affection, and the fact that we have an audience makes him pull away from me the second after his mouth touches my cheek.

JP looks past me and stretches out his hand. “You must be Scott. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Scott remains frozen for a few seconds, just staring at JP’s hand. “Uh...yeah.” His voice is thick and strained when he finally takes JP’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “I’m Scott.”

“Thanks for taking care of my Catalina these last few days.”

It’s themyCatalina that gets Scott’s fists clenching at his sides. “No problem,” he replies through gritted teeth. “Listen, I’m sure you guys want to catch up. Dyl and I were just about to go shoot some hoops, right, Dyl?” He says all of this without making eye contact with anyone.

Dylan may be pissed, but he doesn’t let that overshadow Scott’s feelings at this moment. “Yeah, let’s go.” He kisses Isabella. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Scott leaves without even looking in my direction. Just a week ago, I went over to Scott’s apartment to smooth things over so that I wouldn’t leave here with ill feelings and now everything is so much worse. I watch him walk away, then look over at JP’s smiling face, and I start to wonder how I managed to mess up so badly in such a short space of time.

16. Scott

“Really?” Dylan asksas he opens the door to get the basketball from my backseat. “I thought you said the cosplay was over.”

“It was...until it wasn’t,” I reply as we walk to the court.

Rage is bubbling beneath my skin, and I really don’t need Dylan to give me shit right now. But he’s going to because...he’s Dylan. And I know I messed up, so I don’t need any reminders. I just met her boyfriend. That was enough of a reminder. And watching that guy put his hands on her, kiss her, call hermyCatalina? Fuck, I’m ready to explode!

I just have to push this volatility aside and burn it off on the court. I have to, or else I’m going to lose my mind thinking about them together.

I kneel beside the bench and tie Rocky’s leash around the leg of it. “Sorry I have to do this to you, bud, but I can’t have you all over the court while we’re running around.”

“This is such a fuckup. How do you intend to keep this from her boyfriend?”

“Uh...simple. By not telling him.”

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