Page 46 of The Fun Part
“It’s been really good so far,” I say, smiling as I think of Mackenzie. But then I remember the way she bolted the last time I saw her, and basically disappeared from my life. What went wrong?
Jack claps me on the back. “Good for you.” He sounds insincere.
“Happy for you,” Sara says, sounding equally insincere.
I set my beer on the bar. “Gotta run. Good to see you all.”
This elicits a round of “Aww!” “It’s early!” “Stay!”
I smile. “Got to meet up with Rayna. The final splitting of our stuff.”
“Oof! Don’t be a stranger,” Jack says.
I nod, but he’s already turned back to the group. Conversation resumes quickly. I throw some bills on the bar and head for the door. The moment I step outside, I feel like I can breathe again. I don’t miss the cramped bar scene. Not like Happy Endings where you get some elbow room.
Guess I’m not much of a city person anymore. Only took a month in Clover Park to make the city lose its shine.
A few minutes later, I’ve got a ride to my old apartment building. Rayna took over my lease with a new roommate, which was fine by me. When she texted asking me to stop by and pick up some stuff of mine, I was tempted to tell her to toss it, but since I was going to be in the city anyway, I agreed.
I’ll just go in, grab my box of stuff, load up my car in the parking garage, and head back home. Clover Park is home now. In no small part due to Mackenzie. What is going on with us? It’scomplicated like she said before. I’m confused and disappointed. I was starting to get into the fake-dating scheme.
It’s not like I want something serious. Not anymore. Learned my lesson. Relationships and I don’t get along. And I can’t forget that Hailey warned Mackenzie away from me. I owe Hailey a lot. Not only did she introduce me around town, but she continues to invite me to local events that could help me make even more connections. Her reach is wide, and her rep is gold.
Enough about Mackenzie and the entire Campbell family. I can’t believe how much headspace she takes up. Somehow my work-life balance has tipped into hardly ever focusing on work and exclusively thinking of one person.
I shake it off and press the intercom buzzer to get into my old apartment building. The door unlocks, and I head upstairs.
When I walk into the apartment, I find Rayna and a guy I’ve never seen before sitting on the couch. He’s got a mane of messy curly blond hair, a ripped T-shirt, jogging pants, and bare feet. Is this the roommate?
Rayna leaps up. “Hi, Cal.”
“Hi.”
“This isn’t what it looks like,” she says, gesturing behind her. “He’s paying to stay on the couch. My roommate’s out with her friends.”
“None of my business,” I say, surprised how little it bothers me. I used to get worked up every time she met up with her ex for drinks or dinner or some rally. She can be with any guy she wants now. I’m over it.
Blondie sits up and puts an arm around her. “I’m not just a couch surfer. I’m her guy.”
“He’s not.” She turns to him. “Couch surfing is over. Go now, please.”
He grabs his coat and backpack from a nearby chair and slips on his sandals by the door. “This is messed up.”
Rayna shuts the door behind him and locks it.
I exhale sharply. She knew I was coming over and waited until I got here to tell him to leave. She wants me to be jealous. It occurs to me she wanted me to be jealous of her ex, too, not just shove his superior emotional availability in my face like she always said. Either way, I was jealous that she was out with him so much, but now, well, if Rayna wants to hook up with random couch surfers, it’s none of my business. I haven’t exactly been lonely since our breakup.
“My stuff?” I ask.
“In the bedroom.” She gestures for me to follow. “It’s heavy. I found a lot of your books mixed in with mine and some other things.”
Rayna stops next to the bed, folding her hands together in front of her. “Cal, I’m sorry about the way things ended. I shouldn’t have thrown your law books at you.”
I freeze, surprised by her apology. I was just as much to blame for letting things go on so long when I was unhappy. “It’s okay. I’m sorry things ended so badly between us.”
She nods, her brown eyes shiny with tears. “I wish I could take it all back. It was my own expectations that made me upset. We never talked about marriage. I can wait as long as you need. Cal, I still love you.”
“I think you had the right idea,” I say as gently as I can manage. “We weren’t meant to be for the long haul, and you were the one brave enough to face it.”
