Plastic Hearts Read Free Page A

on him. “Why does this guy have his hands on you?” he asked, rubbing his hands over his eyes and through his slightly too long hair. He looked incredibly tired and I couldn’t blame him. We drove four hours from his parent’s home in the Hamptons to come back here for the night and he had to catch a plane back to Stanford in the morning.
    I shook my head, placing a finger over his lips. “Not here. Let’s go back to my room and talk. We’re both tired and it’s loud in here.” He nodded slightly before he looked back over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to find that Sexy Stranger was no longer standing behind me. I was so wrapped up in what was happening between Ryan and I that I hadn’t felt his hands leave my body. I grabbed Ryan’s hand and lead him outside without saying another word.
    Sometimes I wished Ryan would just yell at me, show me some emotion and passion, but this was classic Ryan. He would never argue and he would never yell; he lived his life in a sea of calm. I knew Ryan was passionate about becoming a doctor and helping people, but I wished he showed that type of passion toward me.
    I liked Ryan, but lately I realized we weren’t going to have the fairytale I’d always dreamed of. I wanted the type of love I could feel from head to toe, the type where I felt every kiss deep down in the pit of my stomach, the type where the mere mention of his name made me smile from ear to ear and ignited a passion within me so strong that even on our worst days our love was better than any other love around us. I couldn’t string him along any longer. It wasn’t fair to him or me. I planned on discussing it with him in the morning, before he left, but now seemed like as good a time as any. He was comfortable for me, but I couldn’t use Ryan like a security blanket anymore. We both deserved something better. I took a deep breath before addressing him. “Ryan, I think we should talk,” I said, my voice cracking with every word.
    Ryan joined me on the edge of my bed, rubbing his hands together, which I knew was a telltale sign he was nervous. “What’s going on between you and that guy from the club? I saw his hands on you, Alex. I’m not a jealous person, but I don’t like to see another guy touching you like that.” I shook my head in an attempt to reassure him that there was no one else. I hated that he thought there was, but maybe it was a sign of what we’d become.
    “I don’t even know his name.” I started to pick the nail polish off of my fingernails. I couldn’t will myself to look into his eyes. I’d known Ryan long enough to know what his eyes looked like when he was sad.
    “What? You let some guy, whose name you don’t even know, touch you like that? God, Alex, I was right there,” he said, raising his voice slightly as he raked his hand through his hair. This was going to be so much harder than I had even imagined.
    “I thought it was you. I was dancing with Jade and felt hands on me and thought it was you,” I replied, not even trying to mask the frustration in my voice. I briefly looked up at him before returning to my nails.
    “I guess I’m just upset that I have to say goodbye to you tomorrow. The last few months have been harder than I thought they would be,” he said as I turned back toward him. He ran his fingers along the line of my jaw, adding to the weight of my already heavy heart. “I miss you,” he whispered. I could see the ache in his eyes as he looked into mine. I hated that I had to do this. Every single part of me hurt because I was getting ready to let go of one of my best friends.
    I was a people pleaser by nature. I did everything I could to not hurt others, even if the result of that was hurting myself. It was time to talk to him, no matter how much it was going to hurt both of us. This was me taking control of a little bit of my life.
    My lip quivered as I tried to gain enough composure to speak. “I think we should take a break. We’re thousands of