Page 14 of Falling Back to You

The bell rang and Maple took off. “Wait for me,” I called out. Catching up to her, I opened the door and found Reese Palmer, Ozzie’s cousin, on the other side. Reese and I had been childhood friends, and even after my breakup with Ozzie, we’d remained close.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Reese greeted us.

“What’s in the bag?” Maple asked.

“Can you say hello first?” I admonished her.

“Hello, Auntie Reese. What’s in the bag?”

“I thought we could make cookies,” Reese said, hanging her jacket on the hook in the entryway.

“Yay, I love making cookies. I love eating them even more.”

“Why don’t you set the stuff up so we can get to baking?” Maple claimed the paper bag and skipped to the kitchen. Reese scanned my outfit. “Oh, so this is a date date,” she teased.

“Is it too much?” I’d opted for a simple red-and-tan striped dress that hit way above my knees and my black cowboy boots. My locs were styled in curls instead of the normal, low-maintenance messy bun.

“If you showed off your ass a little bit more, you wouldn’t be struggling to find dates.” She gave my butt a playful pat.

“I’m not struggling.”

Reese followed me into the living room while I switched essential items from my normal tote bag to a tiny purse. “You’re going on a date with Shelton Krause.” She wrinkled her nose.

“He’s nice.”

“You don’t like nice.”

“I do.” Nodding timidly was not helping to support my case. Nice typically meant pushover, and I was a strong personality. I needed a man who adored me but knew how to put me in my place every now and then.

Reese checked to make sure Maple was still busy in the kitchen. “Is that why you dated my cousin on and off for years, because of his sweet-as-pie demeanor?”

“No, I stayed with Oz for so long because I was stupid.”

“You know he’s going to find out that you’ve jumped back into the dating pool.”

“I don’t care. So, what, he gets to date but I don’t?”

For the record, I didn’t know if he was dating or not. If he was spending time with someone other than me, the news hadn’t reached the ears of Hume residents. There were very few secrets in this town. When more than two people knew a thing, you could bet your last dollar that at least ten other people were also wise to it. I was certain by the time Shelton and I were seated in the restaurant, someone would’ve rung Ozzie up to spill the beans.

Reese dropped her voice to a whisper. “Dial, it’s kind of hard to start over when you’re still fucking your ex.”

“Would you shush?” I said, eyeing the hallway, looking for signs of Maple. I’d told Reese about the shenanigans between me and Ozzie. I just needed someone to convince me to stop doing him. My resolve was weak, and I’d asked Reese to kick some sense into me. And like the best friend she was, she’d listed all the reasons sleeping with my ex was a mistake—including her belief that he still had feelings for me, which I vehemently denied. Ozzie didn’t like me; he liked the idea of me.

“I’m not one to judge—God knows I’ve fucked my fair share of frogs. All I’m saying is you may be over Ozzie, but I don’t think the feeling is mutual. And he’s going to take the news of you dating again very personally.”

“And that’s why we’re not telling Oz about my date. Right?” I lifted my pinky finger, waiting for her to agree.

She looped her pinky through mine. “He won’t hear it from me.”

“Appreciate you having my back.”

“I love my cousin, but I love you more.” Her eyes scanned the coffee table, where a brochure from Three Rivers Community College was sitting on top of some of Maple’s artwork from school. “What’s this?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you thinking about going back to college?”

“No. I grabbed the damn thing after my last city planning meeting.”