Page 5 of Mess With Me
Cali stood abruptly, so he stood too. “Let’s go,” she said. “I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.”
He understood. She was quick to cut her losses. Still, what about Ally?
“You want to stop for coffee?” he asked Cali, figuring he could invite Ally along too. He and Cali frequently had coffee after a rough shift at work. The simple act of drinking a cup of joe helped them come back to the realm of normality. Some of the stuff they saw on the job stuck with them and not in a good way.
“Perfect,” Cali replied.
He leaned down to where Ally sat, speaking close to her ear so she could hear him over the loud music. She smelled like flowers, delicate and soft. “We’re heading out, stopping for coffee, if you want to come along.”
Ally looked from him to Cali. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Let’s go,” Cali said and strode to the exit.
“It’s not a problem,” Ethan told Ally.
“Sure?” Ally asked.
Cali was already halfway to the door.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he said.
Ally took one last look around, her gaze stopping on a dark-haired man with a soul patch standing with a group of guys, all of them yukking it up like they were back at the frat. She turned back to Ethan, lifting her chin. “I’d love to go for coffee.”
“Come on, we gotta move it. Cali’s probably in the car with the engine running by now.”
She laughed and they headed out, walking at a brisk pace. He quickly gave her directions to a diner nearby and headed for Cali’s old Chevy, which was in fact running, Cali staring straight ahead in the driver’s seat.
A short while later, they were seated in a quiet booth in the back of the diner. He sat on the bench seat next to Cali, who seemed more relaxed now, though still subdued. Across the table, Ally rested her head in her hand and sighed. For the first time ever, he was the only cheerful guy with a bunch of sad sacks. Hmm…what to do. Before he could come up with anything, Ally spoke up.
“I really appreciate you guys letting me tag along. I came here tonight for one specific purpose and it was a complete disaster.”
“What was it?” Cali asked, surprising him. She was usually quiet during their de-stress cup of joe.
Ally glanced at him.
“Doesn’t leave this room,” he assured her.
Cali nodded.
Ally took a deep breath and then in a flood of words told them all about Dean Sweeney (rhymes with weenie), her first love in a serious four-year-long relationship, and how much she’d hoped tonight would be their rapturous reunion of lost love.
He sat there in stunned silence at the raw confession. This was a woman who loved in a big way. Cali was silent too.
Ally didn’t need any encouragement. She kept going, speaking in her animated way, hands gesturing, blond bangs bouncing in time with her movements. She told them how, after she and Dean broke up, she had hot sex with Mark based on some erotic romance novel, and she thought that meant he was the One, so she quickly got engaged to him, and then ran away at the altar because of Dean, who had a girlfriend. His head was spinning, but he was pretty sure he was following as she barreled on, confessing that she hadn’t had sex in way too long, but she’d given up the fantasy and would probably be alone for the rest of her life.
He blinked.
Ally’s chin quivered.
His gut clenched. He didn’t know how to fix it. He wasn’t even sure exactly what she meant. What fantasy? Did sex have something to do with it? Why did she have to be alone if her ex had already moved on?
Cali spoke up. “So that’s your problem? Your ex has a girlfriend?”
Ally looked to the ceiling, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to hold back tears.
He shot Cali a dark look for making Ally cry and then turned to Ally. “You don’t have to tell us.”
“No, it’s okay.” Ally sniffled and swiped under her eyes with her finger. Cali grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table and tossed it at Ally. “Thanks.” She dried her tears with the napkin and took a shaky breath. “He doesn’t have a girlfriend now. He said he loves me, but he doesn’t love me. Not inthatway.”
