Page 118 of Heartsmashed
Well, almost perfect, but that was more on me than him. Basketball was to me like horseback riding was to Beckett. I did know a couple of new things now, though, like how traveling was bad unless you were actually on a trip somewhere, and apparently a double dribble was not a coffee order.
Sports were weird.
Maya sighed in my ear. “My ex is already seeing someone else, and I keep thinking that means what we had didn’t matter.”
Oh yeah.That one I knew.
I curled my hand around the coffee cup as Beckett’s eyes found mine from across the room, steady and knowing. There was no longer an ache in the place Peter used to occupy. It wasn’t painful anymore. Just a memory.
“I get that,” I said to Maya, my voice less teasing now. “It’s hard when someone moves on so fast. Was the relationship real? Were you the only one who felt it?”
“Exactly.”
“Someone else’s timeline isn’t proof of your worth. Feels like it right now, I’m sure, but sometimes people move on fast because they’re healed or because they’re avoiding something within themselves. Hell, sometimes they’re just selfish jerkoffs who?—”
Leon hit thebleepbutton, clearly anticipating more fuckery out of me.
“Hey, I actually behaved that time,” I said, but he only shook his head, while Beckett sat in the corner covering his mouth and trying not to laugh.
“Anyway,” I continued, “I promise I’m not going to get all annoyingly inspirational on you, but sometimes the worstbreakup of your life really does make room for the best person you ever met.”
Beckett’s eyes lifted, locking with mine. That look always made the world go quiet, where it was just the two of us and nothing else mattered.
“Sometimes,” I added, “the thing that feels like the ending is really just the part where the story finally stops being about the person who left and starts being about who you get to become without them. And if you’re really lucky, maybe someone shows up, someone who sees the mess and stays anyway.”
“Did that happen to you?” Maya asked.
I couldn’t help my smile as I looked at Beckett. “Yeah. It did.”
Maya let out a breath. “That helps.”
“Does it?”
“Yeah, but…any advice on where to find someone like that?”
“You know what? Yes, actually.” I waggled my brows at my boyfriend. “I’ve heard hotel lounges are a fantastic spot for meeting gorgeous, available men. Maybe stop by one after work and grab a drink. And a date.”
“You’re the best, Sawyer.”
“Yes, I am. Now do me a favor. Do not text your ex tonight.”
She laughed. “I wasn’t going to.”
“Maya, don’t lie to your good friend Sawyer.”
“Okay, fine, I was thinking about it.”
“That’s what I thought. I could hear the bad decision forming, so block the scumbag’s number, put on something that makes you feel hot, and feel free to dance around your place to this next song.” I ended the call and cued the next song. “This one goes out to Maya, who will not be texting her ex tonight because she is wise and under my supervision.”
Then I hit go on a song from the “I’m a baddie” playlist I’d made months ago and leaned back in my chair as Beckett came over.
“That was good.”
“What can I say? I’ve evolved past emotional train wreck. Helping others is the least I can do.”
He smirked and braced a hand on the back of my chair, leaning down close enough that I could smell the faint scent of his cologne after a long day, and the coffee on his breath. “I liked what you said.”
“Oh yeah? Which part?”
