Page 10 of Once Upon a Star

“I can take some of them or see about having them delivered to a few assisted living facilities or other hospitals beside yours,” Ella suggested.

“Yes. Thank you. That was exactly why I called. Take whatever you want. Donate whatever you think you can. I was sure you would know who would be happy to take this off my hands.” I held up a small envelope. “These tickets are in a couple of days so I’m not sure if you can give these away. Maybe you have an employee who has been exceptional recently and you could give them as a thank you?” I asked.

“Dax and I might take them actually. I’ve been wanting to see “He Wore a Hat" again. You don’t want to?”

“It was great seeing it with you and Layla, and while I would like to see it again—”

“You aren’t going to do it with Bash’s tickets,” Ella finished for me. She took the tickets and looked at them. “Should I not take them? I think you could donate them back to the theater. They might give the seats to students or put them in the lottery,” Ella said.

“I don’t care either way. They should be used. If you and Dax would like a date night, go for it. If you can’t, then yes, see about getting them donated or hand them to some random stranger on the street.”

“Do I tell them they are courtesy of Sebastian Anderson?” Ella teased and fanned herself with the envelope.

“Goodness, no. The man is just looking for me to react. I don’t want it to go viral that he gave away some nice tickets for the hottest Broadway play to some people on the street. He would know I had something to do with it.”

“It would show him that you don’t care about him and you don’t want anything from him.”

“If only. He would just see it as me reacting to him. That’s all he’s looking for. He’s butthurt that I didn’t fall down on my knees as soon as I saw him.”

“That would have made for a more interesting evening for both of you,” Ella said and I shook my head at her. “What?” she asked.

“Stop teasing me about him, or making any random comments about us sleeping together.”

Ella put her hand on her heart and feigned being shocked by my comment. “I was saying no such thing. If you had been more receptive to him, you two might have talked and cleared things up.”

“Yeah, that was totally what you were getting at. Also, not going to happen.”

“Why not? It’s obvious that the man is sorry and wants to make amends. He knows that one of your love languages is gifts. And he certainly knows how to give you gifts that would make you happy.” Ella lifted the box of chocolates that were my favorite.

“We knew each other years ago. I have changed, so has he. Obviously, he isn’t the guy I knew growing up. He can’t see that. He’s trying to get something back that was lost long ago and may not have even been there.”

“What do you mean?” Ella moved an e-reader off the couch and sat down.

“We were kids when we got together. A lot has changed in the seven years, three months, and two days since we had seen each other.”

“That is oddly specific,” Ella said.

I hadn’t meant to say the time frame aloud. Now that it was out, I didn’t know how to walk it back. I sat down next to her, moving a pillow out of the way. “It was something that Bash said. It’s about how long it’s been since we last saw each other.”

“He remembered how long it was since he had seen you, down to the day? That’s impressive and really sweet.”

“I thought Layla was the romantic one. You’re supposed to be practical.”

“Come on. Admit it. It’s kind of sweet,” Ella said, looking at me sideways.

“Maybe he just got lucky,” I said.

“Or not, as it didn’t have the desired effect he was looking for.”

“He doesn’t really want me back. He’s annoyed that I’m not paying attention to him. He was always a man who liked to have the thing he couldn’t have. Did you know that he picked up surfing because a doctor told him that he didn’t have the proper body type?”

“Really? I had no idea there was a certain body type.”

“Apparently his chest isn't wide enough or his arms weren’t long enough. I have no idea. That isn’t the point. He took up surfing to show the doctor that he was wrong. He’s doing the same thing with me. I’m just the latest shiny thing that he thinks he wants to have. Just like he gave up surfing soon after he started, he’ll do the same with me.”

“Are you sure? Or are you just saying that to convince yourself that’s what will happen?” Ella asked.

“I know the man as well as he knows me. He thinks he can get me to talk by doing this. It isn’t going to work. Eventually, he’ll get bored, as he did with me years ago, and move on.”