Book III of UNC Series
While it's known that there are five stages of grief, did you know that there are also five stages of love?
Bailey Nicholson dreamed of finishing her Master's degree and settling in Boston while working alongside her boyfriend...
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September
With my arms crossed, I stare down at my lap. The little nails that I managed to grow months ago have been bitten down to their beds again. And so, as I dig my fingers into my palm to contain myself, there's barely any pain or sting. No half-moon indentations.
Music plays effortlessly through the speakers around the room. Many are on the dance floor dancing and laughing. There's a flute of champagne and my dinner plate in front of me, both barely touched.
My appetite is all but gone as I try to ignore the heat of his gaze on my profile. This is the first time I'm seeing him in months, and he has to have a girl with him. Someone who I can't help but notice looks a lot like me.
I'm not that arrogant to think he's going out with girls that look like me, but the similar physicalities are something I can't ignore.
But he's going out with people, going out on dates and inviting women to be his plus-one to weddings and parties.
He's completely moved on while I'm still stuck in the past.
After Chase, I promised myself I wouldn't lose myself to a guy, and I would move on. But here I am, months later, still focused on him.
I wonder if he's thought of me as I've thought of him. Has he yearned for my touch, my voice, my presence? Because I have for his.
But from the look of it, he hasn't cared about me. He hasn't cried over the words we promised we wouldn't say. He hasn't cried over the loss. Or over the heartbreak or the distance. He truly has forgotten me.
Tugging down the hem of my brown silk dress, I stand without bothering to glance at Maverick as I head toward the bar, needing something stronger than champagne. But as I walk away, I feel his gaze on my back.
Why is he watching me when he has someone with him?
I never expected to see him here when I accepted Ethan's wedding invitation. Mostly because I thought he would have left the first chance he got. Maybe not to London to be with his mom—especially after everything he found out—but away from here.
It's what I would do—will be doing—as soon as I finish my master's program in a few months. And while my choices are still between California and Boston, I'm leaning more toward the former. It's far enough away from here, and it'll be a fresh start for both Sam and me. We need all the distance and space we can get from this place.
And the more I look back at my table, the more I want to leave Cardill.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I hear Mia calling out from next to me.
She looks beautiful in her navy blue dress that hugs her figure. Her tightly coiled ringlets cascade down her open back. Her tawny bronze skin glows, and I'm sure it's thanks to her boyfriend, Noah making his sudden appearance at this wedding despite it being during his playoff finals.
