Jealousy by S.L. Scott

Author:S.L. Scott [Scott, S. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Anthologies, New Adult & College, Short Stories, Collections & Anthologies, Contemporary
Amazon: B00NBFBVV8
Barnesnoble: B00NBFBVV8
Goodreads: 22840655
Publisher: S.L. Scott
Published: 2014-09-06T04:00:00+00:00

THE BREEZE CARRIES the scent of her hair and I inhale. Relaxing, I sit down on a bench facing the city at the edge of the park.

“Why are you sitting behind me?” Jules asks, knowing I’m here.

“What?” I ask. She’ll never believe it was a coincidence. “Jules? What are you doing here?”

She turns, smiling, the sun reflecting in her eyes, making them shine. “I’m having lunch like I do almost every day here. What are you doing here, Dylan?”

“I come here, too,” I reply, “quite often.” I’m putting on my best I’m-still-so-shocked-to-see-you face. “This is such a coincidence.”

“You work like thirty blocks south of here. You can’t even make it here on your lunch hour, much less back again.”

“I’m allotted longer lunches and I like this park.”

She’s silent for a moment, then laughs.

I smile at the sound, then ask, “You buying it?”

“Nope.”

“I didn’t think so.” I drape my arm across the back of the bench, turning to face her more fully. “Whatcha having for lunch?” I ask, peering over the bench down at her lap.

“Something incredibly glamorous and gourmet. Tuna salad.”

“Man, I miss your tuna.”

“Dylan!” she scolds playfully.

Since the birthday dinner, everything seems to have gone from angry to easy between us. “You’re a perv, Jules.”

She shrugs. “Eh, what’s new?”

So much that we aren’t able to talk about yet, so I keep it light for now. “So I have turkey and avocado on ciabatta. You wanna share?”

“You haven’t changed. Yeah, I’ll trade you half of mine. Turkey and avocado sounds good.”

I hand her half of my sandwich and she hands me half of hers. I quickly take a bite of the tuna. “I missed this. You always made the best tuna salad.”

She doesn’t say anything, but smiles while looking down. She’s so beautiful. We chat a little and eat our lunch, the silence between us okay at times.

Eventually I have to ask because I’ve become obsessed with these thoughts, “Did you think of me over the last three years?”

She turns away and I can’t see her face. It’s unsettling, but then she says, “Every day.”

“Me too.” I want to be honest with her. “You never left my thoughts.”

This time she holds my gaze, searching my eyes. “Dylan.” It’s a tone, a warning to stop. “I can’t do this.”

“Because I hurt you?”

“You hurting me is the exact reason I want to have this talk, but it’s not appropriate to talk about that when I have a boyfriend.”

“Austin,” I say, reminding myself..

“Yes, Austin,” she repeats. “I don’t want to hurt or betray him.”

“You betrayed him when you acted like we were strangers on your birthday, Jules. You did that,” I point out. “I played along to protect you. Why’d you lie?”

She stands, crumbling a napkin in her hand as she fists it tightly. Her eyes search the surroundings. Turning her head, she looks at my lap, my chest, my chin, not my eyes—everywhere but in my eyes. “I need to get back.”

She starts to go, to leave, but I stand. I’m immediately by her side, not touching, but close.

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