Page 27 of Old Habits

Maybe Sara was right. This was a mistake.

Jovie waits, staring hard at the nosier patrons until they shift uncomfortably and turn away. Then, she clears her throat and looks at me. “I did leave you a note, by the way.”

I frown. “No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Where’d you leave it?”

“On your window, like always,” she says.

“No, I checked that,” I say, thinking back. “Nothing was there.”

She shrugs. “If you didn’t get it then someone else did.”

I search her face for bullshit but the tone in her voice speaks truth. “What’d it say?”

“I don’t remember,” she says, her eyes dropping to her glass.

“Yes, you do.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not important anymore.”

“You wouldn’t have brought it up if it weren’t.”

“Will, can we just…” She exhales. “We’ve already paved over memory lane enough tonight, haven’t we?”

I nod with defeat. “I guess so.”

Jovie takes a long drink, her throat bobbing at least three times before she sets it back down. “Wow,” she says, her voice numb. “It all comes back so quickly, doesn’t it?”

And I want it to. For fuck’s sake. Part of me is actually enjoying this. I’m livid and screaming on the inside but it’s all worth it just to look into her eyes again.

“So, did you?” I ask.

“Did I what?”

“See the ocean?”

She thinks for a moment. “Yes,” she finally says.

“Atlantic or Pacific?”

“Both.”

I wait for more but she says nothing. “Cool.”

She lays her hands in her lap beneath the table. “Listen, Will…” she sits a little taller, “I think it’d be best if we didn’t see each other while I’m in town.”

I scoff. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” She nods. “You’re doing well now. You don’t need—”

“Cut the crap, Jove,” I interrupt. “We both know you’re doing this to make yourself feel better. Don’t put it on me.”

Her brow arches, followed closely but the quick intake of hot breath. I sit still and prepare for a classic and brutal Jovie Ross tongue-lashing but she says nothing. Instead, she exhales slowly and stands up from her seat.

“I’m gonna go,” she says, staring down at me with tired eyes. “Have a good night, Will.”