Page 804 of Not Over You

He makes my drink and places it directly in front of me. “It’s two pm. Rough afternoon?”

I gulp it down. “Rough doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

“How’d things go with that pretty little thing last night?”

“I took her home with me.”

“I got to give it to you, Jaxon. The women can’t get enough of you. You’re one lucky bastard.”

“None of those women mean a thing to me.”

He fixes me a second drink and places it next to the empty glass. “Who is she?”

“Who?”

“The woman who does mean something to you. We all have one.”

“I broke her heart. I saw her yesterday and wanted to apologize for everything.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“It’s complicated.”

He’s silent for a moment. “You still love her?”

“I never stopped.”

“Then tell her how you feel and that you’re sorry.”

“What if she doesn’t accept my apology? What if she wants nothing to do with me?”

Monty takes a deep breath before answering me. “If that happens, you’ll have to respect her decision. She’ll become the one thing we men fear the most.”

“And what’s that?”

“The one who got away.”

The sound of smooth jazz fills the room as I sit beside Summer. After the phone call I received from Doctor Hailey, I thought it would be best for me to come and visit her. I needed to see for myself that she was doing okay. And she seems to be. Well, as okay as she can be while connected to a bunch of wires. I watch her. I don’t have much to say to her today, so I allow the music to calm me. An incoming call interrupts my pandora. I grab the phone quickly from the table. It’s Adrian. I press the answer button.

* * *

“Hey.”

* * *

“Thanks to you, I drank hot-as-piss beer on my fishing trip.”

“Shit, I was supposed to bring the cooler by, wasn’t I?”

“Damn right, you were.”

“Why didn’t you just buy one on the way there?”

“I thought one of the other guys had one. Turns out they were relying on me to bring it. And I didn’t. And by the time we all found out that none of us brought one, we were already out on the water.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot going on. I forgot.”

He pauses, already knowing what I’m talking about. “How is she?”

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