Page 82 of This Broken Heart
“This is incredibly embarrassing,” she laughs, swiping her sweater sleeve across both cheeks. “You all look so freaked out. Really, I’m fine.”
Matt is staring at me with open curiosity.
Matching my stance, he slips his arm around his girl and puts his hand out. “I’m Matt. Erin’s ex-boyfriend.”
I let his hand hang for a few beats, just bordering on hostile, before giving him a little shake. A bone-crunching handshake.
“Josh.”
“Are you… how do you…”
He’s trying to ask how we know each other. I glance down at Erin, and she looks up at me. The pain in her eyes is still fresh. I’ve never had the experience, but I can’t imagine seeing an ex of five years with a new partner is a good feeling.
I slide my hand up and down her side. Matt doesn’t miss the movement.
“We met a few months ago.” I say, squeezing her into me. “Your mom is going to think we got lost. We better get a move on.”
“Oh. Yeah. You’re right.” She glances at Matt and his new girlfriend. “Nice seeing you, Matt.”
We turn away, walking towards the shopping carts. With a little wink, I lean down to kiss her.
I did it for Matt’s benefit, but also for my own. I’ve been wanting to kiss those lips since I first spotted her.
Am I being petty?
Fuck, yes, I am.
But I’m also enjoying myself.
When we’re well out of hearing range, she leans on the cart and peers up at me. “Okay, are you going to tell me where you came from?”
“Surprise.” I say with weak enthusiasm.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes.” I tip my head. “I mean, Trace was losing his ever-loving mind this morning, but aside from that… we’re all good.”
“In a good way or a bad way?”
“In aTrace freaked out this morning, so here we are,sort of way.”
She winces. “Because of me?”
“Yeah. He was really upset that you weren’t there. Like… really upset. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry to crash your Christmas like this. Between Trace and your mom, I got outvoted.”
“I should have said goodbye. I didn’t really explain what the plan was.” She pauses. “Wait, you’ve been talking to my mom?”
“She answered the phone while you were in the shower.”
“That sneaky little devil.” She laughs. “Now I understand why we’re making actual food for dinner.”
“This is your holiday break. I really don’t want us to be a burden. Trace just would not calm down and I thought we’d just make a quick trip to see you and then let you have your day for yourself.”
“He missed me that much?”
“Well… yeah. He’s gotten pretty attached. We all have.” She’s got a strange look in her eyes, like she might start crying again. I feel uneasy, knowing that I’ve said or done any number of things to make her feel that way. “It’s completely inappropriate for us to be here. I get that. I’m really sorry…”
But whatever I planned to say next gets cut off when she launches into me, knocking the wind out of me. I wrap my arms around her and press my nose to her hair, breathing her in.