Page 114 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“Fine, but you know you’re welcome to come to our place. I won’t tell Mom and Dad you’re in town.”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I just need some time. I’ll get over it.”
“Oh no,” she groaned.
“What?”
“You didn’t,” she said.
“I didn’t what?”
“Did you buy a plane?” she asked.
“No.”
“Liar!” she shrieked.
“I didn’t buy it,” I said. “I’m going to look at it later.”
“Don’t you dare,” she warned. “You don’t need another damn plane. Stop buying planes. I swear there is something wrong with you. People don’t just buy planes when they’re depressed.”
“It’s a hobby plane and that’s exactly what people do when they like planes,” I shot back.
“Just hold off for a few days, please,” she said. “Take a beat.”
“I’m going. Kiss the girls for me.”
“I’m going to call you again tomorrow,” she said.
“I’m fine.”
I ended the call and finished making my sandwich. The last few days had shown me just how isolated I was. Maybe it was time I started making some changes in my life.
I had no friends. No girlfriend. I had my family and a handful of work acquaintances. It wasn’t exactly a good support system.
I carried my sandwich out to the pool deck and sat down. Eliza had brought up a lot of good points. I could try and talk to Claire. The beach in the middle of a wedding reception wasn’t really the prime place to have that kind of a conversation.
But she’d seemed so set on ending things. The pain I felt might have driven me to be rash. She kept saying she wanted to avoid the pain of a breakup. I wanted to avoid the pain of having to see her knowing it wasn’t going to happen. Not after I had finally given up the fight not to want her. She let me fall for her just in time to dump me.
Claire had always been a hit and run. She blew in like a hurricane, did her damage, and then blew right back out. I shouldn’t have been surprised. But then again, I had no indication of what was coming. I dropped my half-eaten sandwich on the plate and pulled off my shirt. I dove into the water and sank to the bottom. I had been doing that a lot lately. It was an attempt to drown her memory.
I resurfaced and brushed my hair back. It didn’t work. I had a feeling there would never be anything that worked. I was fucked. I was going to have to live with her taking up real estate in my head for the rest of my life. She had that kind of power. I climbed out of the pool and grabbed one of the towels. I heard the doorbell and paused. I wasn’t expecting anyone. I didn’t have any deliveries coming. I wouldn’t put it past Eliza to show up at my door.
I didn’t bother checking the security cameras. I opened the door to find Claire standing on the other side. “Claire?”
“Hi.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “How are you here? How did you know where I was?”
“Can we talk?” she asked. She looked like she’d run three miles. Her hair was disheveled. The clothes she was wearing were wrinkled. It looked like she’d been up for days. It was only a little satisfying to see she wasn’t looking so hot herself.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk. It would just make the situation worse. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.
“Ryan, please.”
“Claire, I’m not interested in getting into a big thing,” I said. “I don’t have the energy to deal with drama. I don’t do drama. You said how you felt. I accept that. I’d like to be left alone.”
“Please, let me explain why I said what I did.”
