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Is this part of the breakup?
Is going out with other people and putting his hand on their lower backs part of his new trajectory?
Zak turns, gently leading Genessa with him. His head shifts, and his brown eyes lock with mine.
“He sees me!” I sit up from my slouched position and desperately look around for somewhere to hide, but there’s nowhere to go. Nowhere except…
A major broken heart and the desire to make Zak feel a little bit like I’m feeling suddenly take over.
I leap toward the stranger, snuggling up to him, rubbing the side of my shoulder into his. I’m like one of those annoying cats that wants you to pet them. My nose nuzzles into his neck. And now I’m no longer a cat—I’m a bunny burrowing into this man. I’m embarrassed, but I can’t even register that emotion, because I’m working myself up for the finale. I fully intend to plant the most passionate kiss on him, as if I don’t even know Zak is here. As if I’ve been making out on this bench all night.
It’s not a well-thought-out plan. It’s not even a plan I’m proud of, but it’s like something inside of me has snapped, triggering broken-hearted self-preservation.
My hand reaches up to the man’s chin, pulling his face toward mine. His light eyes go wide, and his palms shoot up to stop me from coming in, but I’m a woman on a mission. I pucker my lips and go for the gold…
At the same time the man turns his head and swipes my hand off his face.
My lips skid across his stubbled jaw and down onto his neck—and not in a sexy way. More like how a toddler presses their mouth against a glass window and blows. The force of his karate chop to my arm sends my body off balance, and my elbow drops down connecting, with his upper thigh. He yelps and jerks his body forward, causing our heads to smack together.
The yelp suggests that wasn’t his thigh after all.
“Meg?”
I lift my head up, meeting Zak’s shocked gaze.
Just kill me now.
That’s the most humane thing to do.
Don’t make me suffer through the most embarrassing display of human interaction there ever was.
My hand goes to my head, where I probably have a goose egg from the collision. I slowly stand and face him. “Zak! Hey!” I smile, trying to pull off confidence, but there’s none left. It was literally squashed along with the stranger’s manhood.
Zak’s eyes rove slowly over my body. In the three years we dated, I never wore a dress like Tessa’s little black one, and there’s no mistaking his appreciation.
A shred of confidence returns untilshespeaks, and I’m reminded of the fact that moments ago, Zak’s palm was on her lower back.
“Meg?” She reaches her hand out to me. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Sure. You’ve heard about how Zak broke up with me and is now single.
I eye her proffered hand. Do I have to shake it? I mean, I know it’s the polite thing to do, but do I reallyhaveto? Civility wins, and I reach for her hand. It’s delicate, just like I imagined it would be. You can’t look like the Little Mermaid and not have soft hands—salt water is an excellent natural exfoliator.
“What are you doing here?” Zak eyes the man my elbow just emasculated, reminding me of his presence.
“Oh.” I point behind me at the stranger. “We were just talking.”
“That’s not what it looked like,” Zak says.
“What are you doing here?” I’m hoping to change the subject away from my embarrassing display.
“Tony from CrossFit is throwing a party on his yacht.”
“Oh, that’s Tony’s yacht?Feelin’ Nauti?” I chuckle like a woman who's gone mad. “That’ssoTony. If I’d known that it was his boat, I would’ve stayed longer.”
“Youcame for the party?” The disbelief on Zak’s face is insulting, as if I don’t like parties. Iloveparties.
Okay, fine. I only like the kind of parties that are for kids, the ones where juice boxes are served as the drink of choice.
