Chapter 29
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
HARPER
Hi Harper, just checking in. I’m the ex who memorized your Starbucks order and also the way you wrinkle your nose when you lie. You know you do, and yes your drink is complicated—just like us.
—Ezra
I was going to murder Ezra.
He was supposed to be giving me space—letting me simmer, maybe even plot his untimely demise—not blowing up my phone like every psychotic ex on the planet.
And worse? He wasn’t sending groveling apologies or “please forgive me” texts.
No. He was sending stupid, swoony, fake-ex messages that had me grinning like an idiot in the middle of rush-hour traffic.
Why was he doing this? Why now? Was it even real, or was he just playing with fire—the kind of fire I’d happily light at his ankles and then fan into a full inferno until he was nothing but ash?
I huffed, tossed my phone onto my lap face down, and crossed my arms. I wasn’t supposed to be looking anyway. I was on a date. A nice date. A romantic date.
And wow. Even in my own head, I sounded about as thrilled as someone at the dentist drooling all over the place.
Aaron had picked a cozy little Italian place with string lights and mismatched wine glasses that somehow made it look intentional.
He was all sunshine again, talking about a surgery he’d just assisted in like it was no big deal.
Meanwhile, I was nodding, smiling, and very casually gripping the butter knife in my hand like it was the only thing tethering me to reality.
My phone buzzed.
Ex #GlassesGuy
Miss me yet? Thought so.
I shoved the phone deeper into my lap like it had personally betrayed me.
“So then the attending says, ‘Do you want to close?’ and I’m standing there holding this guy’s chest open and—uh…” Aaron’s voice trailed off. His gaze dropped to my hand. “…Harper?”
I blinked down. My knuckles were white around the handle, the pointy end of the knife glinting in the candlelight as I twirled it between my fingers like I’d just joined a traveling circus act.
Another buzz.
Ex #Captain
Defected to the enemy. Send help. And cuddles.
I smiled. Wide. Too wide. “Oh, sorry, just… thinking.”
He leaned back slowly. “Should I be concerned right now, or…?”
“What? No.” I laughed, maybe a little too hard. “Of course not. I’m totally fine. Just, you know, contemplating life. And death. And how butter knives are really underrated as weapons.”
His brows shot up. “Right. That’s… comforting.”
I stabbed a piece of breadstick with unnecessary force. Buzz.
Ex #FutureHusband
Don’t do anything reckless. Like pretending you’re not in love with me.
I shoved the breadstick in my mouth like it was Ezra’s fault. Which, let’s be honest, it was. Everything lately was Ezra’s fault.
Aaron sipped his wine, studying me like I was a puzzle. “You’ve got… a lot of fire.”
Buzz.
Ex #BestFriend
Hey, remember that line we swore we wouldn’t cross? Oops. Wanna fight about it over pizza?
“Thanks,” I mumbled around the breadstick, already gripping the knife again. “It’s actually rage masquerading as adrenaline. Fascinating right? You’re a doctor—are psychotic breaks due to stress normal?”
Aaron leaned in and pressed a hand on my arm. “Yes, and let’s call it.”
My entire body deflated. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin our date.”
“No, I mean…” He held up his hand and waved the waiter over, sliding his card across while still talking to me. “We should go. This isn’t the right place for your sort of ‘I want to kill a human’ energy.”
I didn’t ask him where he thought that sort of energy belonged but color me stupid when we showed up at the local aquarium.
I stared up at the sign. “So, crabs.”
“Don’t forget the shrimp, sharks, occasional clam, and clown fish.”
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. “You deemed me not safe around humans and you bring me here?”
“I did and I do.” He held out his arm. “You can’t be full of rage at an aquarium, it’s just distracting enough.
I would have taken you to the zoo but it’s closed right now and they frown upon trespassing and since I want to keep my job, the aquarium it is.
” He walked up to the front and paid for our tickets.
Closing time was in twenty minutes but he didn’t seem to mind paying full price.
“So.” We both grabbed brochures and started walking through.
“Do you want to talk about the rage or do you want to just walk, grunt, cuss occasionally, and then point at the fish—I do draw a line at tapping on the glass.”
“Understood.” I winked. “And honestly, life is just confusing. This whole situation is strange. I went into it to prove a point which I think I did, in fact, prove. I get to keep my apartment—at least I should, I have all the required proof—everything is going perfect and yet somehow it feels like I stepped into a bigger mess than before.” I leave out the parts about Ezra.
But he surely saw my bathroom break down, though he was kind not to say anything.
Maybe that’s what guys did when they were in competition.
No, wait that’s not right, because in his mind there really wasn’t any—Ezra’s not Aaron’s. Ugh I was confusing myself.
“Ah, the footfalls of fame.” Aaron led me into the dolphin section.
I nodded gravely. “It’s not for everyone. Really, it’s not.”
One dolphin in particular swam toward us with its stupid happy face, stupid tail, and stupid grin and—on God—I almost yelled at it. An innocent dolphin. But instead of yelling, what came out of my actual mouth was:
“Dolphins are the Christian Greys of the sea.”
Aaron blinked. “…What?”
“Hate sex brought on by trauma,” I said, dead serious.
“They…do drugs too,” he offered cautiously. “The puffer fish thing. Gets them high.”
I snapped my fingers. “Exactly. They pass the poor fish around.”
Aaron winced. “One has to wonder if the fish dies.”
“Wouldn’t you?” I shot back. “If you were passed around by an entire dolphin family? ‘Here, Grandpa, take a hit. Hold on, Junior, let me just take out my teeth?—’”
I winced. “Too far?”
“I couldn’t stop though—I had to finish the scenario.”
Aaron burst out laughing, shaking his head. “For the record, it’s been a weird date, but at least I got a second chance.”
Was he already counting himself out of the game?
Guilt pricked at me as we drifted into the next section in silence. Rows of colorful fish swam past, glowing under the tank lights. One in particular—a blowfish—puffed itself up until it looked like a spiky balloon.
“Wow,” I muttered. “Same, buddy. That’s exactly how I feel after a bad taco truck decision.”
Aaron snorted. “You’re unhinged.” He gave me a long, assessing look, still smiling. “But honestly? I kind of like it. Keeps me on my toes. Most dates I go on, the wildest thing a girl says is that she’s ‘really into yoga.’ You’re out here accusing dolphins of doing drugs and body-shaming blowfish.”
“Hey,” I pointed at the tank, indignant. “He puffed first.”
Aaron’s grin widened. “Sure. Or maybe he just snuck me some blow.”
I choked on a laugh. “You did not just make a dolphin coke joke.”
He raised an imaginary wineglass toward the tank. “To our suppliers.”
I shook my head, laughing in spite of myself. And that was the problem—he really was a good guy. He just wasn’t liar-pants Ezra.
My notifications buzzed again. And again. Louder now, echoing in the aquarium tunnel like sirens. Perfect.
“We close in five,” an employee announced as he walked past.
“Yup,” I whispered, speed-walking toward the exit with Aaron at my side.
Aaron had been nothing if not normal and kind through my entire psychotic break.
I mean, really—who yells at a dolphin and lectures about dolphin sex in the middle of a date?
(Hi, me. I do that.) The poor guy was just swimming, and I’d been ready to square up like, What are you looking at, bro?
All because my phone wouldn’t stop blowing up about Ezra’s kiss.
The drive back was quiet, the only soundtrack Chase Atlantic’s Friends, which honestly made me more painfully aware of my predicament.
“Look,” Aaron said finally from the driver’s seat. His voice was careful, steady. “I think we should try. Despite all the…whatever is going on with Vex. Or Ezra. Or whatever you call him. Like—was the name change about the fame? I can’t be the only one with questions.”
He glanced at me, softer now. “You’ve done all the dates, and hey—success. You get to post the last few with me. Why not us? Why not try? Without cameras. Without your phone buzzing every two seconds. I can’t promise anything beyond taking each day as it comes. But if that’s cool with you…”
I swallowed the basketball-sized lump of guilt in my throat. He was nice. He was good-looking. He was talented. I’d be an idiot to say no. And Ezra—the one person I trusted most in the world—had lied. So maybe this was my option. No, not maybe. He was sitting right next to me.
I reached across and grabbed his hand. “I’d like that. I think. It’s just…weird. Dating two people. One started horrible and is going pretty great. The other…” I exhaled. “The other is with the so-called perfect guy.”
Aaron laughed. “Tough competition. Plus, he’s got the hair. I think his hashtag went viral last week.”
I smirked. “Yeah. He’s always had good hair.”
Aaron frowned. “Always? What do you mean, always?”
Shit. Shit on a stick. “I mean, since we started dating. He’s always had good hair.”
“How long did you two date before you cut him loose and then brought him back for this TikTok serial?”
Was this an interview? I frowned at our joined hands. “I don’t know. A few years back. Things just…didn’t work out.”
Aaron looked out the window, then back at me. “Maybe it was meant to be. Him walking away.”
Why did that make me want to cry? Tears pricked my eyes. “Yeah. Maybe.”
But his hand didn’t feel familiar. It wasn’t Ezra’s hand. And no matter how hard I tried to pretend, it wasn’t what I wanted.