He studied me, shifting his weight. “Well, for what it’s worth, you make standing in line bearable.”

Tiffany shot me a look behind his back, her brows raising in a silent flirt back, you idiot.

I ignored her.

The boy—Rowan? Rudy? Something with an R—leaned in slightly. “You look even better in daylight.”

Tiffany made a dramatic swooning noise.

I blinked.

I should have been flattered. Should have been excited, or at the very least, mildly interested. But all I felt was…tired.

All I could think was how I didn’t care.

Because I already knew how this would go.

Because he wasn’t Blake.

I swallowed the thought, forcing myself to be normal, to be a girl standing in the sun, talking to a cute boy.

“You should let me take you out sometime,” he said.

Tiffany’s eyes practically screamed say yes!

I shifted uncomfortably, plastering on a smile I didn’t quite feel. “That’s sweet.”

Ryan’s/Reese’s grin didn’t waver. “And?”

Tiffany was suddenly at my side again. Without warning, she kicked my foot—lightly enough to make it seem like an accident.

I sighed, my fingers tapping against my cup. “I don’t know.”

His eyes flickered with amusement. “Alright. Think about it.” Then he winked and walked off.

Tiffany smacked my arm. “What the hell was that?”

“What?”

“He was hot, Bev! He just asked you out. And you…you—” She gestured wildly. “You shrugged him off?”

I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t shrug.”

“You may as well have.”

I groaned, rubbing my forehead. “Tiff.”

“No, don’t ‘Tiff’ me,” she cut in, crossing her arms. “It’s been four months, Beverly. Four. Months. You have to move on.”

“I know…”

“Then act like it.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Tiffany’s gaze softened, but her voice remained firm. “Blake doesn’t deserve this much space in your head. He shouldn’t be the reason you’re putting your life on pause. You’ve been holding back, all for someone who’s never even asked you to.”

“Tiff—”

“And, by the way,” she said, crossing her arms, “if he did care? If he wanted you? He’d be here.”

I swallowed hard.

He wasn’t here.

He wasn’t anywhere.

I barely saw him at work anymore.

Apparently, he had begged Greg not to schedule us together, to make sure we never had the same shifts. I hadn’t believed it at first. But then days turned into weeks, and I realized I had gone an entire month without even brushing past him in the break room.

She sighed softly, nudging my arm. “Go out with him.”

I swallowed again.

I didn’t want to say yes. But I didn’t want to say no, either.

Because Tiffany was right.

Because Blake was never going to choose me.

I forced a breath through my nose, my chest tight.