Page 44 of The Pucking Kiss

“I know, but I just need a little break from all of that,” she told me.

“A break?”

“Yes, a break,” she said firmly. “I need to clear my head. Maybe we can pick things back up again when I’m in a better place.”

“Is this…” I hesitated, feeling exasperated by her sudden shift in attitude. “Is this your way of breaking up with me?”

She turned to look at me now for the first time all afternoon. I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“Break up with you? Don’t be silly, Bryan. We were never together.”

“Geez, okay,” I replied. “Whatever you want, then.”

I could tell from her expression that she was disappointed by my response. Maybe she wanted to hear something else, like how it was a real relationship and that we should get together for real. But right now, I just wasn’t ready to give that answer to her.

When I dropped Romai off at home, I was still feeling pretty out of sorts. Her coldness had put me in a bad mood, and all I wanted to do was get the bitter taste of it out of my mouth.

So, I arrived at Jake’s house for an evening of video games. He waited for me in his living room with the snacks and gaming console already set up.

“My man, my man,” he fist-bumped me as I walked in. “Glad to have you back after that long-ass weekend away.”

“It’s good to be back.”

“I heard you went with Romai,” he said as he turned on the TV and set up the game we had agreed on playing. “A little love getaway, eh?”

“It’s not like that,” I shook my head, “We’re not even together.”

“What?” Jake’s head whipped in my direction, and he eyed me curiously. “Well, that didn’t last long… Just last week, the two of you were so loved up. Honestly, half the girls in the school were jealous.”

“It was all fake, man,” I admitted, feeling a sense of relief that I could finally get it off my chest. “We were never actually dating.”

“Whoa, back up,” Jake came over to my side immediately, “Why the hell were you in a fake relationship?”

I pursed my lips. Looking back now, it was hard to believe that I had ever agreed to such a thing.

“Let’s just say it was a mutually beneficial situation,” I sighed, grabbing the controller. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. I think she broke up with me.”

“Bryan,” Jake said slowly, concern lines creasing the side of his face. “You sure it was just a fake relationship? I mean, you seem pretty torn up about it.”

“It was,” I pressed. “And I’m not torn up about it. I’m totally fine.”

At this point, it seemed like I was trying to convince myself more than Jake.

In all honesty, I had been in a weird funk ever since Romai had told me the news. It made it worse that I didn’t even know what had caused her to change her mind like this.

Was there another guy in the picture? I surprised myself with how jealous just the mere thought made me.

“Nah,” Jake shook his head, not buying of my bullshit. “I don’t believe you. I’ve only seen you like this once, and that was when Anita broke your heart in 8th grade. Damn, you were really torn up about it.”

I tried to ignore him and focused on the game instead. But it was clear that Jake wasn’t letting this go any time soon.

“Why’d she break up with you?” he probed. “I mean, me and my girl were just going to invite you two out for a double date. This really puts a damper on those plans.”

“I don’t fucking know, okay,” I finally snapped. “We were fine one night, and the next day, she was telling me that she needed a break to clear out her head.”

“Uh oh,” a knowing smile formed on Jake’s features. “Dude, I think I know exactly what’s going on.”

“Enlighten me,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

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