Page 17 of The Fun Part
I turn, my gut tightening at the sight of Mackenzie rushing toward me. I half want to catch her in my arms. “Hey,” I say warmly. Now she’ll apologize for acting like she barely knows me.
“You forgot your banana bread.” She shoves it in my hand. “Bye!”
“Thanks,” I say to no one. She already sprinted away.
I continue toward the inn, an uncomfortable feeling gnawing at me. I have no claim on her, so why does it bother me that she pretends I’m some random new guy? Just because we had an amazing hookup followed by five more amazing nights?
It’s just that I know how to make her moan and, dammit, it’s my name she says over and over. I don’t know why that matters, but it does.
I try to shake it off. We’re probably only going to keep this up for one more week. That’s when I start work. Better timing that way for forgetting her. Two weeks still counts as casual.
My phone chimes with a text.
Mackenzie:That was too weird. Let’s stop this craziness before it gets messy.
I exhale sharply. Messy? How can things get messy when we agreed it’s casual? It’s not like it’ll complicate things with anyone else since I barely know anyone here. This is just between me and her, which is exactly what I text her.
I have half a mind to turn around, go back to the café, and tell her to her face.
What am I getting so worked up about? This is nothing, a fun whatever. I shove my phone in my pocket, ignoring the chimes of new texts coming in. She can text her lame excuses all day for all I care. We both know she’ll show up tonight at midnight.
Mackenzie
Day three of not spending the night with Cal. Last night was a nail biter. It’s so tempting when he’s right across the street and all my traitorous body remembers is thenever-ending pleasure. The man has skills, I’ll give him that.
But casual has its limits, right? Five nights in a week was already far more than I’ve ever dared for a casual fling. Also, when I texted Cal that we needed to end things, followed up by lots of very good reasons, his response was a big fat nothing. The least he could do is text back OK. Would it have killed him to say he’ll miss me but it’s for the best? I don’t ask for much.
I sip my wine and let the conversation flow around me, only half listening at our regular Sunday night family dinner at my parents’ house. It’s nice to have cozy family time where I don’t have to think about anyone besides my beloved family members—Mom, Dad, Finn, Cooper and now Rowan, Cooper’s fiancée. Rowan’s smart and hardworking. Her caramel brown hair falls in a shine of silk to her shoulders. It’s her natural color too.
Anyway, I love Rowan. She fits right in with our family. So well that Mom made her partner in her wedding planning business. At one time, Mom hoped that would be me, and now that door’s closed forever. Mom didn’t even ask me if I was okay with it.
I’m really trying to be okay with it. Part of me feels like I was passed over. I push down the uneasy feeling of not living up to expectations that’s dogged me my entire life where Mom’s concerned.
“It’s nice that Cal’s getting settled in town,” Mom chirps, disturbing my peaceful Cal-free time. “I invited him for dinner tonight—”
“What?” Adrenaline shoots through me. I’m not prepared. I didn’t even put on makeup. I have to look like I’m perfectly fine moving on and not thinking of him at all!
Mom sighs. “But he couldn’t make it.”
I take a slow, deep breath.
She continues, “I didn’t want to bring up such a sensitive topic with him, but I hope his ex, Rayna, wasn’t spiteful enough to take his stuff before he had a chance to clear out his apartment.”
Rayna. I have so many questions about the woman he lived with. I’ve never lived with any man. I’d have to be serious about them to even consider it because separating your stuff once it’s over is more pain than I want to sign up for.
I spear a green bean. “Would she do that?”
Mom finishes chewing a piece of roast beef and dabs her mouth with a napkin. “Breakups can be messy, and a woman scorned and all that. She put in a year of her thirties only to be disappointed with mismatched expectations. I think if you decide to live with someone, it should be clear if it’s a situation of convenience, like saving on rent, or a step on the commitment train.”
I still, surprised to hear Cal and Rayna were together for a year. That doesn’t sound like a commitment-phobe to me. Now that I think about it, they must’ve been together for a while for her to expect a proposal on Valentine’s Day. He bounced back surprisingly fast. Disturbing.
Cooper mouths at me, “Commitment train.” I suppress a laugh. Mom always uses funny old-fashioned lingo. I think it’s from watching too many black-and-white screwball romantic comedies. Cooper maintains it’s her natural personality.
Mom continues, slicing off another bite of roast beef. “Wouldn’t it be easier if couples said right up front what they want from a relationship?”
“Like you and I did?” Dad asks, his brown eyes dancing with amusement.
Mom shoots him a dark look. They were the farthest thing from open communicators in the beginning. At one point in their marriage, they went to couples counseling to get better at the whole communication thing. They were very open about it with us kids. Dad still likes to give her a hard time, though to be fair he’s like that with everyone. It’s his way.
