Page 23 of Salace

“Do you have any left to share?”

I do my best not to grind my teeth together. By “share” she means she wants one of her own.

I lean to the side and fish out my wallet, tossing it onto the table and giving her a level stare. Not that she sees it, she’s too busy prying open the wallet, and fingering through the bills I have in there.

“Be right back,” she says, getting to her feet. She settles on a twenty-dollar bill, then pushes her chair back, the scraping sound echoing throughout the ice cream parlor.

I reach for my phone and begin to spin it aimlessly in circles on the tabletop. I could always just walk away and never look back—I’m sure that’s whatshewould do if the shoe were on the other foot, but I hesitate. I don’t think I’d be able to handle the guilt of not telling her why at the very least.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Arching an eyebrow, I snatch my phone quickly off the table. I guess in my haste to get Eden over here, I accidentally set the ringtone as vibrate when I put my phone away.

Swiping at the bridge of my nose with a knuckle, I lean to the left as I do my best to keep the phone concealed from Eden’s line of sight, then tap the screen to life.

No way.

A small smile curves the corners of my lips as I reply a quick,hey there,to Aimee, then shove my phone back into my pocket.

Since I know she’s nothing like Eden, she’ll more than likely give me a chance to get back to her.If she responds,I think ruefully, remembering that she’s with that guy and there’s no way I can compete with an older man.

I startle when Eden pulls the chair out, the scraping sound echoing off the walls in the parlor again, then plops down in her seat.

“Did that cost twenty dollars?” I ask, nodding at her sundae.

“Nope,” she says, as she dips her spoon into one of the vanilla mounds.

“Then let’s see some change,” I state in an even tone, holding my palm out toward her.

She rolls her eyes and huffs as she pulls the bills and coins from her pocket, but as I take them from her and slide them to my left, Eden gives me a curious look.

She knows something is up.

She has to—I always let her keep the change.

“What’s going on, Kasey?” she asks in a semi-bored tone, before she shoves the dainty spoonful into her trap.

“This is over.”

Blunt and to the point.

The exact way I’ve needed to be with her for so damn long, but couldn’t muster up the courage to do so.

“’Kay.”

That’s it?I wonder, blinking rapidly a few times.

“Did you hear what I said?” I push, curiously.

“Yeah, you want to break up. That’s fine. I haven’t been able to stand looking at you for a while now,” she remarks, as she licks her spoon, then dips it into the vanilla mound again.

I get to my feet with a dry laugh, and turn to walk away, but before I do, something stops me.

History isn’t something that should ever really be forgotten or ignored, and I want to add one more little chapter to our failed love story before I go.

“Hey, Eden?” I ask, turning slightly and placing a fist on the table next to her bowl.

“Yeah?” she asks, without looking up at me.

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