Page 11 of How to Lose at Love

“Ryann Winters?”

At the sound of my name, I do stop.

Do turn around.

I give him a good once-over, passing my gaze over his hat, face, and jacket. The hands he has stuffed in his pockets, the joggers and expensive black sneakers.

I neither confirm nor deny that Ryann is my name; after all, I don’t know this guy from Adam. What’s it to him what my name is?

“Are you Ryann?”

I shift on my heels. “I don’t talk to strangers.”

Obviously.

“False. Otherwise you wouldn’t have just told me you don’t talk to strangers.”

“Excuseme?”

When the guy laughs, a puff of steam leaves his lips. “I’m Dallas—and I’m cold as fuck, so…”

“Yeah, well, so am I because we’re standing here and you haven’t gotten to your point.”

Sensing I’m in zero danger, I start walking again, brain shouting that this is the elusive Dallas Colter Winnie was dishing about. I’m confused about why he was waiting for me outside of my job.

I stop again on the sidewalk. “Wait—were you waiting for me?”

That is what he was doing, right?

“Yeah.”

“Why?” I’ve never met this guy in my life—it’s not as if we run in the same circles. This is a guy who, if Winnie and Kyle are correct, is headed for the major leagues or professionals or whatever they call it when a guy keeps playing ball after they graduate.

“It’s about Diego.”

Instantly, my hands fly up to cover my mouth. “Oh my God, did something bad happen?”

“Why would you think something happened?”

“Um, because you’re here at my job like a creep, leaning up against the building waiting for me! Plus, he canceled our date.” I gasp again. “Oh my God, is this why he canceled the date? Because something is wrong?”

“Dude, calm down.”

Dude, calm down? Never have I ever been calleddudeby a guy; not sure how I feel about it, either.

The wind whips my hair, sending my ponytail sailing past my mouth.

“So. I’m just going to rip off the Band-Aid.” Dallas Colter pulls his hands out of his jacket pockets and claps them together definitively. “Diego is breaking up with you.”

I’m sorry. What? “Excuseme?”

“I said, Diego is breaking up with—”

I hold my freezing-cold hand in the air. “No, I heard you. I just…” I start to laugh. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. No offense.”

I begin walking down the sidewalk, still giggling to myself at how absurd that is, why some strange guy I’ve never met has appeared at my job to dump me.

As if.

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