Page 44 of Chasing Infinity

My fingers drum against the wooden table as I wait for Eli to show up. I told him to meet me at this café at a specific time, and as I glance at my watch, I realize he’s ten minutes late. It’s right in character for him to be pushing the clock, so I’m not worried. He’ll be here eventually. In the meantime, I rehearse what I will say to him.

After much contemplation over the last week, I’ve decided that I need to break things off with him for good. His request for a date night the other day provided me with the perfect opportunity to get him alone, so we could have this talk just the two of us.

After thinking about it long and hard and running through different scenarios, I realized it would be a good idea to meet in a more public place. Eli has a bad habit of letting his emotions get the best of him, and the worry was that if we were alone, he would be more likely to explode at what I have to tell him. He would never hurt me, but I knew there would be a good chance for a lot of yelling.

Not that there won’t be now, but the chances go down significantly if other people are around.

Finally, fifteen minutes after we agreed to meet, Eli comes rushing into the restaurant like a whirlwind. His eyes scour the room until he sees me sitting off to one side, and I wave one hand at him. He strides over, giving me a sheepish shrug and an apologetic smile.

“Sorry I’m a little late, things were wild over at the market today, and I couldn’t get away.”

“It’s okay.” I give him a tight-lipped smile—this is one of his favorite excuses. I’ve heard it more times than I can count throughout our friendship. He’s not the only one who has responsibilities. Still, somehow it never seems to affect my schedule when I say I’m going to be somewhere at a specific time.

Eli opens his menu and reads it over, glancing up at me. “Do you know what you’re going to get to eat?”

I nod my head. “I’m just going to do some broccoli cheddar soup and a turkey sandwich.”

“Great, I’ll go up and order it then,” Eli says, standing from his seat and leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to my cheek. “Be right back.”

I offer him another smile and pick at my nails while he’s gone, running over my script in my head. It doesn’t take long before he sets down a plate in front of me with a steaming bowl of soup and half a sandwich on it. I look over at the meal he placed in front of himself and realize he ordered the same thing as me.

“Eli, you hate turkey,” I remind him, raising a confused eyebrow.

He looks at me and shrugs a shoulder. “You always order this when you come here, so I figure it must be good. I just wanted to try it.”

I sigh at the man in front of me and shake my head, this hopeless romantic fool. He means well, but I never asked for that. We eat our lunches in silence, Eli attempts to make small talk here and there, but I don’t engage. We’ll talk when we’re done, and I have to admit, now that he’s sitting in front of me, I’m growing increasingly nervous.

I don’t want to hurt Eli, but I’m afraid it’s inevitable. I have to do this to get back on track in the best way for our relationship. It’ll be like ripping a band-aid off.

As soon as I take the last bite of my soup, I set my spoon down and look at Eli from across the table. He’s been finished long before me, though a few bites of his turkey sandwich remain—he still mustn’t like turkey. I’m not surprised.

“Eli,” I begin and grip my hands together under the table. He eyes me for a second, his gaze tracing over my face like he’s searching for clues. Then he sighs, his shoulders slumping.

“You’re ending things between us, right?” Eli asks me sadly, his face looking like someone just kicked his puppy.

“Wh—how did you know that’s what I wanted to talk to you about?” I ask him, taken off guard.

“I could tell after you left after our last date night that you weren’t happy. I’m going to lose you, aren’t I?”

I brace myself and look down at my lap, my cheeks heating. “Eli, I was never yours, to begin with. You know how I felt going into this deal with you, and I still feel the same way now.”

“Addie,” he pleads. “Is there no chance for me to prove that you’re making a mistake with this?”

“I love you, Eli, but not how I think you want me to. We don’t work well as a couple. We never really have.”

“Why not? I can try harder. I’ll be better.”

“No, that’s the thing. I don’twantyou to try harder; you’re myfriend. You’ll always be my friend. But I don’t want to be with you like this anymore.”

“Addie,” he says again, then drops his head in his hands, groaning into his palms. “Throw me a line here, please.”

“I’m sorry,” I say despite it all.

Eli sighs, dropping his hands from his face and hitting me with a suspicious glare. I square my shoulders up, knowing that the civility of our conversation might take a turn.

“This is because of McCoy, isn’t it? It’s because he’s back in town again that you’re dumping me. Even though we’re perfect together, you’re going to throw it all away for someone like him.”

I take a deep breath in through my nose. There’s a lot to unpack there. “It’s partly about him, yes. But Eli, it’s more than that. You and I arenotperfect for each other. It might be hard for you to see that now, but I promise you, you’ll find someone who is that perfect person for you someday, and then you’ll see the difference.”

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