Page 76 of Dr. Sexypants

Lain’s eyebrows went into her hairline. “Bawling over the movies or because of Justin?”

“Both, maybe?”

“Damn. I never thought I’d see the day that happened.”

“What?”

“You crying over a guy.”

“Yeah, me neither, but here I am.”

My BFF stopped rolling out dough and came around the table to hug me. Tears welled up in my eyes when she whispered, “I’m so sorry. You should’ve called me. No one should handle a breakup alone.”

I pulled away and swiped at my cheeks. I was tired of crying.

“I don’t think you can technically call it a breakup. Don’t you have to be in a relationship for it to be considered that?”

“Babe, whether you want to admit it or not—you two were in a relationship.”

I dropped my head onto my arms on the table and bellowed, “I don’t want to admit it! I just want my heart to stop hurting.” I looked up when I proclaimed, “My mother warned me about this.”

My BFF, who had gone back to rolling croissant dough, stopped and pinned me in place with her stare.

“You know I love you with every fiber of my being, so I’m saying this with love. Your mother fucked you up by telling you about your dad. You have deprived yourself of being in a real relationship your entire adult life. For what? So, you won’t get hurt?”

“Pffft. That’s not working out very well for me, now is it?”

“Didn’t Justin say once you figured things out to call him?”

I wrinkled my nose. “I mean, kind of.”

“So go to the therapist, start getting your shit together, then work it out with him.”

“By the time I get my shit figured out, he’ll be married with three kids,” I scoffed.

“You never know…”

****

Justin

I stepped off the path to retie my left hiking boot that had come undone, then took a drink of water before continuing my descent down the mountain.

Even though it was a hot, muggy August day in North Carolina, I opted to spend it trekking a popular mountain trail that was a short drive from Haven Springs, since I wasn’t allowed back at the hospital for forty-eight hours.

I’d worked ten days straight and would have taken more shifts had the chief of staff not put a stop to it and demanded I take a few days off.

But being at work was better than climbing the walls at my house. Plus, it kept me from pathetically taking a stroll around the Orchard Hill subdivision, hoping to “casually” run into my blonde neighbor from a few streets over.

I started back along the path, lost in thought.

I should’ve taken her offer to be exclusive without worrying about what the future held.

Why had I been so stubborn?

Rhetorical question. I knew why, but it still came with regrets.

I was sure Kristy would’ve come around; she just needed to be eased into the idea of being in a relationship. Commitment scared her for some reason.