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All the happiness slowly drained from me as I stared at his arm around her. So that was why she’d canceled. Somehow, that was a lot less cute than needing to take her dog to the vet. I shut my phone off and flicked out the lamp next to my bed, overtaken by a sudden urge for darkness and silence. I curled up under the blankets.

I guess Oliver had realized his mistake.

12.

Jessica

“We might need to go home if you’re just going to cry into your prime rib all night.” I handed Oliver a tissue as he returned from the bathroom. We’d gone out to dinner at an intimate restaurant to help show the public that he was over his ex, but I’d never seen anyone such a mess.

“Who’s crying around here?” He dried his nose with the back of his hand and downed the last of his large glass of wine.

Somewhere in the restaurant, the flash of a camera went off. I smiled and gave Oliver a quick kiss on the cheek as several more photos were snapped. As much as I hated canceling on Amelia, I was glad I was here with Oliver now. There was no way he could handle this alone. He’d fallen hard for Mel and she’d stabbed him in the back. My heart broke just looking at the broken expression on his face.

“Come on, they got their photos. I think we should go home,” I whispered in his ear, fishing some cash from my purse to cover the bill.

He nodded, sighing. He’d been brave to even attempt to go out. He was at the stage of the breakup where he really just needed to put on a movie, eat a bucket of ice cream and scream at the top of his lungs. We’ve all been there.

He blew his nose on the tissue I’d given him as we walked out of the restaurant and into a waiting cab. I told the driver to take us both to my place. When we finally got through my front door, Oliver let out a long groan and said, “Love sucks.”

“I know.” I sighed.

“Who does that to a person?”

“Assholes, that’s who.”

“Did you read what she’s been saying about me?”

“I don’t fill my head with that junk.” I took his coat from him and hung it in my closet.

He let out another long, frustrated groan.

“Shh, you’re gonna wake up my dog-sitter,” I whispered with a finger to my lips.

“I’m already up.” Sara appeared in the hallway, Cleo cuddled in her arms. The puppy leapt from her as soon as she saw me, and I scooped her up, nuzzling my face into her soft fur.

“I take it things didn’t go according to plan?” Sara raised an eyebrow.

“They went fine.” Oliver sighed. “The vultures got their photos. Mind if I shower and hit the sack? I’m exhausted.”

I nodded. “There should be clean towels in the bathroom. Let me know if you need anything.”

Oliver disappeared into the bathroom and Sara and I were left alone.

“Poor kid.” She shook her head. “Breakups are brutal enough without everyone gossiping about your heartbreak.”

I nodded. “But, hey, while you’re here—I, umm, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Sara raised an eyebrow. “This sounds juicy.”

“Obviously this stays between me and you.” I lowered my voice.

“You don’t even need to tell me that.”

“I know,” I said, feeling so much warmth towards my friend. She really would take my secrets to her grave. I continued, “So, I guess this all started when Amelia and I decided to do some, umm, practicing for the movie.”

Sara’s eyebrows raised. “This sounds really juicy.”

“Oh fuck off.” I punched her in the shoulder. “All we did was practice some kissing and umm, ended up fooling around a bit.”