Chapter 1
When the bell rings, I grab my backpack and slip out of class, knowing what needs to be done. This one will be kind of hard. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I neverenjoybreaking up with a guy, but it’s usually not a big deal. Usually it makes sense. We just don’t click. We’re just too different. We’re not soul mates.
Easy.
This one…well, Chris is really nice. He’s also super cute. Not to be a shallow jerk, but he’s hotter than any guy I’ve dated this year, and probably last year, too. He’s got that chiseled jaw, tanned skin, tall-dark-and-handsome thing going on. He always smells amazing too, like he somehow found a cologne that’s a mixture of every perfect boy smell.
He’s just notthe one.
And so he has to go.
I can’t believe what I’m feeling as I make my way from the history hallway up to the front of the school to the cafeteria. There’s this flutter in my stomach, and a quickness to my heartbeat. Is this…nerves? Am I nervous?
That can’t be possible. I’ve done this a million times. I guess I just feel guilty about this breakup. But it has to happen.
“Chris!” I call out when I see his shaggy dark hair floating above the other students in the hallway. Did I mention he’s also super tall? He’s the whole freaking package, I tell you. The perfect guy to date, at least on the outside. But there’s something on the inside that isn’t clicking with me.
He turns around, his brows pulled together until he sees me. Then his whole face softens and his lips slide into a grin. “Hey,” he says, lifting his arm in a wave.
There’s too many people between us, so I point toward the entrance of the library, which is empty because no one visits the library unless they have to for a school project or something equally lame. His expression darkens instantly, but he makes his way through the crowd and meets me there.
We never stop on the way to lunch. For the sixteen days we’ve been dating, we go straight to the cafeteria where he sits with me and my friends while we eat lunch. But today is different, and he knows it.
“What’s up?” he asks. He scratches the back of his neck.
I know exactly what to say because I’ve said it before. Many times. Probably too many times.
“Listen, Chris,” I begin. “I need to talk to you.”
Most guys don’t know. It doesn’t click right away. They’ll actually look at me and wait for me to tell them that we’re over, that it’s not working, that we’re breaking up. But Chris is one of the smartest guys I’ve dated, and he knows. His eyes widen and then his shoulders fall, and then he says, “Why?”
“I just wanted to—”
“No, I mean why are you breaking up with me?” he asks. “We were good together.”
I swallow. I didn’t think I’d need a reason beyondI think we should break up. “It’s just not…vibing,” I say, cringing at my pathetic answer. Vibing? Who even says that?
He looks up at me and there are honest-to-God tears in the corners of his eyes. Tears. I am making him so sad he’s holding back tears.
I don’t think I can handle this. My chest constricts and I offer him a flat-lipped smile. “I’m sorry, Chris. You’re really great, it’s just—it’s me. It’s all my fault and it’s not yours, I swear. I’m sorry.”
The words come out quick and painful and he’s just watching me with this disappointed look on his face and I feel so bad I think I might throw up. Most guys don’t take it this hard. Most of them don’t really care.
I look toward the cafeteria on the opposite side of the hallway, hoping for a quick escape, but there’s still a million students walking to lunch so I can’t just bail. “I’m really sorry,” I say again.
“Yeah, me too,” Chris says. He blinks and his eyes go back to normal. He stands a little taller. I hope he really does feel better and isn’t just putting on an act to save face. I don’t want him to be upset. He’s a nice guy. A good guy.
“My friends were right about you,” he says, heaving a sigh.
“What does that mean?”
He shrugs. “They told me not to date you. Said you never stick around in relationships.”
Yeah, okay, that’s true, but I didn’t think people actually knew that. I feel my cheeks burn. “Like I said, it’s me. Not you.” I grab his arm in a pathetic attempt to comfort him. “You’re really great. You’ll find someone better than me.”
The crowd is finally thinning. “I’ll see you around,” I say as I turn to go.
