Finding Dandelion (Dearest #2) Read Free Page B

the problem, not him. Me!
    God, I hope she was faking it.
    When you see moments like this played out in the movies, the scorned lover always has clever things to say to hurt the guy and show him it’s somehow his loss. Except I didn’t. I was speechless. Couldn’t say a word. I still want to kick myself in the head for being a mute.
    I’ve barely been able to say anything to the happy couple the half dozen times I’ve seen them. Of course, I might’ve been distracted since Reid was trying to massage her tonsils with his tongue. Admittedly, Ashley is tall and gorgeous. I’m a pigmy next to her, so I don’t totally blame him for being into her. But do they have to go at it right in front of me? He and I did date for almost a year.
    #WhatAWaste
    When I ran into them last week, I kinda thought I was over it. But then she accused me of stealing her necklace when I moved out last semester. All I did was stammer and grit my teeth and fantasize about punching her in the kidney.
    Travis and I approach a bakery and decide to stop to grab a bite. The aroma of sourdough bread makes my stomach growl, momentarily taking my mind off my asshole ex.
    After we settle in a booth and give the waitress our order, I open my journal. “Items number one and two: check!” I take a hot pink sharpie out of my bag and mark them off.
    “You wrote a list?” The derision in Travis’ voice is thick, paralleled in intensity by his arched eyebrow.
    I smirk back. “It’s to remind me, so I don’t get off track.”
    “Can I see this list?”
    “You already know what’s on there, and if you see it in writing, you’re going to be obnoxious.”
    He reaches for it anyway and tugs like a bulldog until I relent. I watch his face as his eyes travel across the page. “Get a tattoo, get something pierced, have a one-night stand.” Travis’s eyes turn up. “You should have done number three first. It’s more fun. Plus, there’s no pain involved. Unless that’s how you like it.”
    That arched eyebrow tilts higher, and I laugh. “Perhaps, but this is about self-discovery, and I’m taking baby steps. Or at least that was the plan.”
    Travis waits for the waitress to deliver our salads, and as she walks away, he leans toward me. “I wouldn’t exactly call numbers one and two baby steps,” he mumbles as he reaches for my sharpie and scribbles on the page.
    “Hey, you’re not allowed to do that.” No one, and I mean no one, writes in my journal but me. It’s half diary, half sketchbook. Not that there’s anything in there Travis doesn’t already know.
    “Too late.” He says it kind of sing-songy, the jubilant tone matching the self-satisfied expression on his face.
    I read number four out loud. “Dance on a bar.” I shake my head. “Travis, that’s so slutty.”
    He snorts. “You’re the one who wants to have a one-night stand.”
    Glancing around the restaurant, I chuck a crouton at his head. “Could you lower your voice? You know I don’t necessarily want a one-night stand. I just…”
    He reaches over and grabs my hand. “I know. Your ex head-fucked you, and you need a clean slate. A hot piece of ass will definitely help.”
    “Uh, I get that Reid’s an asshole, but did he seriously have to hookup with Ashley?” The thought of them burning up her sheets together still makes me want to jab them both in the eyeballs with dull pencils.
    “Live and learn, babe. See, you never need to worry about the bitches because you already know what to expect. It’s the friendly ones you gotta watch out for.”
    “That’s deep.”
    “I still can’t believe you didn’t lose your shit.”
    “What was I supposed to say? ‘Ashley, you were a great roommate, right up until you slept with the guy I dated for the last ten months’?” Crumpling my napkin, I shake my head again. “You know I’m not good at confrontations.”
    Travis puffs out his chest a little. “I’d be happy to kick his weaselly little ass. You’re too good for