Read Online Picking Up the Pieces by Elizabeth Hayley - Free Book Online Page A

Bulova watch. It was still a few minutes before 6:00; she wasn’t late yet. But I was annoyed anyway. Why was I the only one who had cared enough to be early? Why did I care at all? Lily had ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. I didn’t owe her this meeting. And I especially didn’t owe her an apology. What had I been thinking?
                  Suddenly, my body tensed and my skin prickled. I knew that when I turned around, she’d be there. I cocked my head to the side, looking at her out of the corner of my eye. She scanned the bar and stopped on me, her lips lifting to a small smile. Shiny and perfect, her hair looked as though she had just stepped out of a shampoo commercial. A fitted purple CrossFit T-shirt formed snuggly to her body, and her jeans settled casually on her hips. Suddenly, my annoyance turned to anger. How dare she look so fantastic. I had been a mess for the past five months, and she looked like a fucking model. If there had been any question as to whether or not I had meant a damn thing to her, that question had been answered. If anything, she looked better. I guess kicking me out of her life had done wonders for her. Fuck this. I quickly turned back toward the bar, not acknowledging her approach. Thank God I had the wherewithal to meet her in a bar. I held up my beer bottle to the bartender, signaling for another.
                  “Hey, Max. Have you been here long?”
                  “No, not long,” I said simply. She had been there five seconds and I was already being a dick. But I didn’t care. The bartender set the bottle in front of me and I brought it directly to my lips and took a swig.
                  “Anything for you, miss?” the bartender asked.
                  Lily looked over at me for a split second. When I didn’t make any move to look back at her, she replied, “Just water for right now.”
                  “Comin’ right up.”
                  “So, what’s been going on?” Lily asked, discomfort evident in her voice.
                  “Nothin’ much. Just figuring some things out. What about you? I didn’t know you did CrossFit," I said with a snort.
                  She looked confused for a minute before looking down at her shirt. “Oh, yeah, I started it over the summer. One of our coaches was in a competition in the city today. I came right from there.”
                  “Huh. I didn’t peg you for a trendy exerciser.”
                  “What does that mean exactly?” She narrowed her eyes at me, probably trying to figure out what the hell my problem was.
                  Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what my problem was. I had been excited, and somewhat nervous, to see her all day. But now that she was there, I was pissed off and edgy. “It’s such a fad. I didn’t think you’d be someone who would buy into the hype.”
                  “I’m not sure how something that has been around since 2000 and has millions of participants can be considered a fad.”
                  “I just hate all of those people who act like CrossFit is the best thing that’s ever been invented. Like anyone really cares how many burpees you can do or how much weight you can jerk.”
    “ Speaking of jerks, I thought I told you not to be an asshole.”
                  “You told me to try not to be one.”
                  “What’s your problem? You tell me you want to meet up so you can apologize, and I agree only to show up and have you be a complete dick for no reason?” Her face flushed as anger started to flood into her. Now we were on a level playing field.
                  “I’m being a dick for voicing my opinions? Aren’t you a teacher? Shouldn’t you be encouraging people to speak their minds?”
                  “Oh, you want us to