Page 59 of Texts From My Exes
I searched her face. “Do you really like him?”
She blinked. “What?”
God, it hurt to force the words out. “Aaron. Do you really like him?”
Rage flushed her cheeks. She stepped closer, so close I staggered back.
“That’s what you’re asking? Right now? Right the hell now?” Her voice shook. “You’re asking if I like Aaron? How is he even—” She threw her hands up. “You know what. Yes. I’m in love with him. We’re getting married. I’ve already run our faces through AI and made creepy children. I expect a proposal at dawn, maybe with a cow. You suck, Ezra. You know that? You suck.”
“Harper—”
“You want to know why you suck? Because you don’t have the balls to do anything except stand there staring at me. You won’t even ask me the question!”
Terror squeezed my throat. “…The question.”
She nodded, tears cutting down her cheeks. “Do you want me to vent? Do you want a hug? Or do you want me to fix it? The question, Ezra.”
I hesitated. My voice barely worked. “Do you want a hug?”
“No.”
“Do you want to vent?”
She shook her head.
My chest caved. “Do you want me to fix it?”
She nodded, lips trembling.
“And if I don’t know how?”
Her smile was broken, soft and sharp all at once. “It’s not that you don’t know how. You fix every puzzle, Ezra. You’re not stupid. You’re just afraid you can’t handle the answer.”
The door slammed in my face.
Deserved.
I’d asked about Aaron and used him like an emotional shield, I hadn’t confessed shit, and I hadn’t apologized.
I stared at the closed door and hung my head. Not how I planned on my whole get her to truly see the real me, fall for me, classroom plan was supposed to check out or happen.
My phone pinged.
The notification came from little devil horns—Grandma Blue to be exact.
Blue Devil
Saw her upload, not happy, I know it was a classroom, son, but kissing isn’t supposed to involved show and tell. You ass.
I texted back right away.
Me
I didn’t plan for it to explode that way and I’m not an idiot, I brought my rock collection to show and tell!
Blue Devil
It’s a true wonder you’re single, the world isn’t fair is it?
