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Carly twisted her mouth. “I’m with Reese on this one—the intent not the poor choice of words. Being married to Joe fucked with you. But yesterday? The only time I’ve ever seen you that happy was when your kids were born. You’ve never smiled like that when you’re talking about a relationship. But I also know you’re more in touch with yourself than pretty much anyone. You’re so fucking self-aware that it’s beauty and pain at the same time. If you’re telling yourself this is the right decision, you know you best.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t come across as smugly as I wanted, because I was still trying to convince myself I was making the right decision to dial my relationship back with Colin and Tanner.
It had been less than a day. My body was still riding the high of the levels of attention they gave me. Once I had some time and distance, I’d be able to admit I loved the praise more than the individuals.
And for tonight, I’d take a tipsy Adrienne back to Dustin’s, and I’d crash on his couch so I could be there in the morning to start making things up to Alana.
22
tanner
I wassurprised and relieved when Colin showed up to swim class on Saturday. He arrived after a few of the students, which didn’t leave me time to talk to him in private, but he was all smiles with the kids.
He was exactly the person I knew, and had grown up with…
And had never realized how he felt about me.
The thought slammed into my head, the way it had been over and over since yesterday. It didn’t bring any additional insight, so I shoved it aside, the way I had over and over since yesterday.
Class went as smoothly as normal, with one tiny difference. Whenever I asked Colin something directly, or started a conversation with him, his expression would go flat and the little crinkles would vanish from around his eyes.
He always answered, though.
When our time with the students was up, I grabbed his attention. “Can we talk?” I asked.
“About what?” His tone was friendly but cool.
About how I feel about you. But those words stuck in my throat because I didn’t know what came after. “About something. Anything.”
“I can’t. I’ve gotta run. Maybe next time.”
I followed him to the locker room, but instead of changing, he pulled on a T-shirt, grabbed his bag, and headed out in his still-damp trunks.
Maybe he just needed time. I didn’t want this gap to exist between us at all, though.
When I pulled my phone from my locker, there was a message waiting for me, from a number I didn’t recognize.
“This is Carly,” the woman said. “Daria gave me your number, and I’d like to talk. Give me a call back.”
Daria. The name sent a flash of hope rushing through me. The feeling didn’t erase my stuckness over the Colin situation, but it did give me a glimmer of hope to focus on. Daria had said Carly was her best friend. This had to be promising.
I dialed Carly’s number without hesitation. When she answered I said, “This is Tanner Hagen. You left me a message about Daria?”
“Sort of,” Carly said. “She asked me to give you a call and talk to you about a building appraisal? I’m hoping we can find a time you can show me this rec center you’re looking at.”
Oh. Right. “I’m not sure, but I can call the owner and see what his schedule is like. When can I call you back?”
“This is nothing formal. It only needs to be you, so I can tell you if the property is worth pursuing or not. You’ll get an official appraisal from your lending bank. If you have keys, let me know when you’re free, and you can take me on a walk through.”
I didn’t want to go back to an empty apartment, and if this was Daria’s friend, maybe I could extract a littlehow is sheinformation at the same time. “Is it too much to hope for now?”
“I guess I can catch up on The Bachelor another time.” Carly’s huff was loud, but her voice was light.
“Are you sure? You’re not dying to find out who she chooses?”
Carly clucked. “I’m hoping she picks them all, but given the number of episodes left, that seems unlikely. I can be there in an hour if that works.”
“I’ll be here.” That gave me an hour to kill, and that meant maybe I could lose myself in swimming.
