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“Of course. You’d do the same for me.” She gave me a soft smile before grabbing her things. Her makeup case was in one hand, and her hair bag was in the other. “Hell, youdo, do the same thing for me. Every season.”
JJ’s ex-boyfriend was in the NHL, and whenever his team came into town, he still tried to hit her up and convince her to come see him. I printed up his hockey schedule and circled the dates when his team would be in town, and I also put those days in the calendar in my phone. We made sure to stay busy and hyperaware during those times. Guys like him could be unpredictable and could show up, uninvited, at any time.
And as much as he aggravated me with his inability to leave her alone once and for all, I was also kind of jealous of his tenacity. He kept fighting for what he wanted… even after all this time. Her ex never quit, whereas mine acted like he’d never even met me. Hers called numerous times, begging for forgiveness and another chance. Mine never apologized. Or called.
“I sort of look forward to it now,” I said with a laugh, and she stomped her foot on the floor before giving me a crazed look and setting her things back down.
“You do not.” She let out a slightly horrified laugh. “You can’t possibly.”
“I do actually. It’s kind of like a tradition. Have you ever thought about how you’ll feel if he stops trying?” I asked, and her expression instantly shifted with the question.
“Not really. As much as I know I should hate and despise him, I like that he still tries. That he knows he messed up and lost a good thing and can never get it back. It feeds my ego.”
I could tell that JJ felt instantly guilty for admitting that to me. As if the thoughts alone made her a weak female somehow, but I knew exactly what she meant. And it wasn’t like she planned on giving him another chance or anything. She just liked having him fight for one.
“It’s stupid, right?” she asked, pulling me from my internal thoughts.
“Not at all. I understand completely.”
When it came to matters of the heart, we simply weren’t logical creatures. We turned into people we didn’t always recognize and thought things we’d never normally think. In the end, we all just wanted to be loved.
“Really?”
“Of course. I think I’d feel the same way.” I gave her a soft smile, hoping that my reassurance would make her feel less crazy and alone. “And it’s not like you want him back.”
“Definitely not.” She made a face. “I believe in second chances, but not for guys like him.”
“See? I might have a different opinion if that were the case.”
JJ’s ex hadn’t just cheated on her once. It had been multiple times, in multiple cities. He could never recover from that. There was no apology that could erase or excuse his behavior, no matter how caught up in the spotlight he claimed to be.
“Have you ever thought about what you’d do if Tyson reached out to you?” JJ asked, turning the tables around on me.
It was something I used to think about all the time. I’d figured that he would try to get in touch at some point after our breakup, but time kept passing, and he never did. I wanted Tyson to regret losing me. I wanted him to be sorry. I wanted him to miss me. Eventually, I’d had to accept the hard truth—that he didn’t feel any of those things the same way that I did.
I shrugged my shoulders and swallowed hard. “I think if he was going to do that, he would have done it by now.”
“You never know.” She blew out a soft breath.
But I did know. Too many years had passed by in silence. A handful of birthdays. Too many holidays to count. All of the typical dates that made it easy for people from your past to send a quick email or text. But Tyson never did.
“It’s been too long,” I said again.
“Guys are really stupid sometimes.”
I nodded in agreement. “You can say that again.”
She bent down to grab her things once more. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Try to have fun tonight. I have a date,” she said as she began walking out.
“You have a date? With who?” I wondered because my girl JJ was constantly dating guys one time and then never again.
She offered me a half-hearted shrug. “Some guy. I’ll let you know if he has potential or not.” JJ offered me a smile as I closed the door behind her, my head filling with more thoughts of Tyson.
I hated that I was all caught up in him again. And that I still believed I couldfeelhis nearness when I hadn’t felt his touch in years. He probably wasn’t even the same guy I used to know. At least, not the one I’d fallen in love with. The one who told me we’d always be together, no matter what the future held. The one who called us a future “power couple” with his acting and my designing. I’d believed everything.
And it had all been a lie.
OPERATION EVE
