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“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…it’s just…”
“Come out. Let’s talk.”
Opening the door, she takes my hand, and we walk over to the sinks.
“You’re not okay, are you?”
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “I feel like I shouldn’t be, but I might be?”
“It’s okay to be okay, Ellie. It obviously hurts, and you need time to mourn what you’ve lost, but there’s no rule book on breakups.”
“I just don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I admit, not knowing where that thought came from.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s wrong with me that only assholes want me? All through my twenties, only frat boy dicks were interested in me, and when I finally thought I found a nice, stable, respectable man, I jumped into it without thinking twice. I wanted him, and he wanted me. And I thought that was enough. But look how it turned out.” I rub my temples in a gentle circular motion. “I moved in with him because my lease was up and I was spending a lot of time at his place anyway. He asked me to, and I didn’t even think it might have been too soon. We were fine. Everything was fine between us. But…”
“Fine isn’t really a good thing,” she finishes for me.
“No, it’s not. And I feel so stupid.”
“Please, Ellie, you know me. Before Ryan, I couldn’t commit to save my life. And even with him, I had a lot of trouble. At least you tried. Now you know he wasn’t meant for you.”
“I guess.”
“And it’s perfectly normal to feel something for someone so soon.” She smiles, clearly having seen me with Tyler. “You never know what life is going to bring you at any moment. I came here because my life was going to shit, and it was supposed to only be for a week to get away, but I ended up falling in love and never left.”
“Are you trying to tell me something?”
She pins me with sharp eyes. “Don’t be dense. Courtney gave you a pretty freaking amazing offer before. You could start over here. With us. We miss you Elle-belle. It’s not the same without you.”
“Thanks.” I smile, looking down at my shoes.
“I think Ty could be good for you if you end up staying here for a while, if not permanently.”
“Ash,” I sigh.
“Just saying,” she says, nudging me. “He’s fun. He’s a good guy. I’m not saying you’ll fall in love or anything. Ty is more known for loving and leaving, but if you stay, maybe he can help you jump start your life here with a good time. The best way to get over a man is to get under another. It’s a saying for a reason.”
“I think it’s too soon to be thinking about all that, but I did tell him I’d give him another five minutes of my time tomorrow at the barbeque.”
“Good.” She smiles. “But make him work for it. Ryan said everything tends to come easy for Ty, so give him a challenge.” She winks.
“Of course.” I smirk, turning to face the mirror to fix my smudged eye makeup.
“Good. Now, let’s get back out there.”
Walking out arm-in-arm with Ashley, we head back to the table to rejoin everyone, but she stops at the bar where Ryan is sitting with Tyler and runs her hands up his back. She whispers something in his ear that makes him smile, and he turns in his stool to pin her with a heated gaze.
“Ignore them,” Tyler says, shaking his head. “It took me a little while to be around Jake and Ryan when they’re with Ally and Ashley, but you’ll learn to let it all fade into the background.”
“Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later.” I mutter, turning my gaze to him.
“You good?” he asks, and I realize he means because I just ran away from him a few minutes ago.
“Oh, yeah, fine. So, are you two here to keep us in line?”
