Page 79 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

“And that is because you overthink everything.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“You analyze every text.”

“Okay, rude.”

“You ask your friends for opinions before replying.”

I pointed at him. “That is called emotional intelligence.”

“No,” he said. “That’s called being James.”

Damn him.

Suddenly, I wasn’t sitting across from an ex. I was sitting across from someone who remembered me.

At the same time, I also realized that none of those things Kyle mentioned ever happened with Victor.

I never made Victor chase me.

I never spent hours dissecting his texts with my friends.

I never overthought whether I liked him.

I just did.

Was it because Victor showed me his wound early? That maybe the savior complex in me saw his broken pieces and immediately decided they were worth protecting? Or was it something else entirely?

Hell, one unearned ‘I love you’ and I practically handed the man the keys to my nervous system.

The thought hit harder than I expected.

Maybe Kyle really did know me better than the man I still couldn’t get over.

And somehow, that wasn’t comforting.

“And I kept thinking…” Kyle rubbed the back of his neck.

“Thinking what?”

“That if you were hurting this much,” he said, “then whoever did it must’ve really mattered.”

Silence settled between us.

Not awkward.

Just honest.

And somehow that felt more dangerous than flirting.

“That guy’s an asshole, though,” he added, breaking the quiet moment.

I tilted my head, picking up my glass of water.

“Funny,” I said before taking a sip. “There’s two of you now.”

Kyle laughed.