Page 54 of Stuck with the Grump

You are just you with Leigh too,the voice in my head whispered as another beer was set in front of me.

The hours passed quickly, one football game on the television blending into another. I was content to set and nurse my beer, watching the game––though I don’t know what compelled me to stay––when Audra approached the table, I shook my head.

“I’m sorry,” I said, standing up and tossing a few bills onto the table. “I don’t know what you thought. I wasn’t trying to lead you on but I won’t be going home with you tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, that pleasant smile still on her face. “You looked like you were too hung up on your girl to actually consider it anyway.”

“So why bother?”

She shrugged and hefted her purse higher on her shoulder. “Sometimes you have to go after the things you think might be worth it.”

“Can I at least pay for your cab home?”

“Absolutely,” she said, her grin widening as she accepted the money I handed her. “For what it’s worth, that girl is clearly missing out on something special.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling my heart beat harder in my chest.

As Audra got into the cab, what she said kept ringing through my mind.

Sometimes you have to go after the things you think might be worth it.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, looking up and down the street. Camille’s apartment was a cab ride away, but I could get there fast enough. There had to be another shot with Leigh. We couldn’t just fizzle out and fade away.

Forty was too old to keep playing games with my heart.

First, I was going to need a little more help from liquid courage. After that, I would go see Leigh in person. If she was determined to ignore me, I had to be even more determined to get in contact with her.

We were far from over. I just had to figure out what I was going to do to fix us.

25

LEIGH

Afterspendingalatenight with Camille and her friends at the bar, I had decided to go home early.

The alcohol made my mind hazy and maybe that was why I thought that some random man who looked a lot like Clarke was sitting on my steps. Except did Clarke ever wear baseball caps? I blinked a couple more times, the haze still lingering in my vision as I got closer.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my nose wrinkling at the scent of alcohol rolling off Clarke. I noticed the half-empty rum bottle sitting beside him and the dark circles beneath his eyes.

“I came to see you.”

He looked up at me, the lines settling deep on his face as he reached for the bottle and took another sip. I crossed my arms, anger flowing through me at the sight of him. My phone was filled with unanswered calls and voicemails that only lasted a few seconds before they ended. Looking at him now, it was clear to see that he may have missed me as much as I was missing him.

Still, we had an agreement. Our relationship was supposed to end the day that we walked away from each other. We were supposed to move on with our lives and go back to trying to build our careers. I was weeks away from opening the gallery and I couldn’t have any distractions.

Wasn’t that the reason we had walked away from each other in the first place?

“Clarke, you’re a mess.”

“All I wanted was you,” he said followed by another swig from the bottle. “After you left, I realized that’s all I’ve wanted. You.”

“You’re drunk, please, just come inside.” I panicked suddenly at the thought of paparazzi hiding in shadows and snapping photos of us. How would that look for Clarke? For me? I wouldn’t put myself through that again.

He stood up and walked over to me, standing inches away as he looked down at me. Clarke’s hand reached up to weave through my hair, pulling my head back gently to look up at him. Clarke grinned, the scent of rum and beer fanning out as he exhaled.

Though I wanted to tell him to go home, his gripping my hair sent a surge of heat straight to my core. The thought crossed my mind to drag him inside and strip him down. To act as if there had never been any distance put between us.

“Clarke, what are you doing?” I asked, my voice hushed as he looked down at my mouth.

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