Page 121 of Mine

I took a deep breath as I switched my phone to silent, making my way to the Ford Ranger.

He sat in the driver’s seat watching me with a smile on his lips, wearing a dark red leather jacket that oddly resembled the one Brad Pitt wore in Fight Club.

Don’t stare, Gretchen.

He was hot, there was no denying that, but just as I had hurt him, he had hurt me. Cheating on me for an entire year was shitty; and my heart was with Cal, who would always be my one and only.

I suppose it was usual for exes to still admire each other, as long as nothing was done about it.

“How can you still look so beautiful in your loungewear? Man, girls must hate you,” he laughed as I climbed in the truck, pulling the door shut behind me. I clipped my belt in as I shot him a warning smile.

“Less of the beautiful. You said no funny business.”

He held his hands up as he pushed the car into drive, pulling away easily. “So, New York,” he said, glancing over to me as we drove through the familiar streets, my heart aching with memory after memory.

“Yeah, it’s a big ass city.”

This was ridiculous.

When were we going to just get to it?

He seemed to read my mind as he sighed, turning onto the freeway.

“Okay, Gretch, here’s the thing. You know I still love you, there’s no denying that,” his bluntness surprised me.

If he had loved me in the first place, then he wouldn’t have cheated with Krystal, I thought with annoyance.

But I guess either way, it didn’t matter anymore.

I stared straight ahead as he continued to speak.

“You’re with Cal, that’s just how it is. But that doesn’t mean I can turn off how I feel for you. I haven’t seen you since we left school and I just handled it badly the other night. I apologize.”

I nodded, relieved in the direction the conversation seemed to be taking.

“Thank you,” I said as he smiled at me reassuringly.

“I thought we could head to that little cafe overlooking the sea,” he pointed towards the hills that rolled in front of us and I nodded. I knew the place, he used to take me there when we were dating.

“That’s fine.”

I wanted to say more, but the guilt at even being in his presence alone made me feel sick with nerves. Cal would leave me, after sawing Luke’s head off with a rusty blade. We drove in silence for a while until he pulled into a dirt track that led to the cafe, his tires guiding us towards the parking lot despite the gravel.

“Ah, man! I’ve not been here since I last came with you,” he admitted sheepishly as I lifted my eyebrows in surprise.

Surely there had been other girls?

“Not even Krystal?” I said.

Luke narrowed his eyes then as he shook his head.

“It was never like that between me and Krystal. I’m sorry I was such a jackass, Gretchen. I majorly fucked up…” his words trailed off as he waited for me.

He swung his keys around his finger as I climbed out, landing on the floor with a thud.

“It’s in the past, Luke. We’ve all moved on,” I said pointedly, as we walked into the cafe.

Luke grunted in response, and the conversation ended there.