“Baseball.” I answer, quickly deflecting her question.
“Well that sucks for you. I’d be going f**king nuts if I had to go that long without him.”
I pick up the pace, trying to get to my car faster so we can stop talking about Cooper. We reach the car and both throw our bags in the backseat. I climb into the driver’s seat and start up the car.
“You know where they opened that new club right?”
I nod, “Yeah.”
I pull out of the parking spot and turn onto the highway. My stomach is filled with a million butterflies and my hands are all clammy. I send a silent prayer that Cooper isn’t there when I drop her off. I can’t see him, I can’t handle it.
We almost drive straight past the club, it’s changed so much that I barely recognized the place. Instead of the old flaking red paint, the building has been freshly painted jet black with an eye catching, contrasting, blue trim. They’ve added waterfall columns to the front of the building with soft white light to give them that glow feeling. All the windows that used to have bars on them are now panes of glass so that you can see into the club. The second story of the club now looks to be some kind of deck by the rails outlining the building. They’ve done a three sixty with this place and I feel myself smiling at how much work they put into it.
Drawing my eyes away from the building, I look for Cooper’s truck. Thankfully it’s not here, there are only three cars in the parking lot, none of which I recognize. I wonder who they have doing interviews for them since I don’t see Eli’s car either.
I park in a spot between an SUV and a pick-up truck, figuring this would be a safe spot to hide in incase Cooper does show up.
Layla reaches for the door handle, “Thanks again. I’ll be as quick as possible.”
Half smiling I say, “Good luck.”
About a half hour has passed and I’m still waiting for Layla to come out. No one else has entered or left the building since she walked in. A tall, well built, man walks out the front door now. He’s wearing dark sunglasses and a black hat. He walks in my direction, probably wondering why I’m sitting in a parking lot of a business that’s not open yet. The alarm beeps from the truck next to me.
Whew, I breathe a sigh of relief. I watch as the guy climbs into his truck and drives away, leaving the parking spot next to me open. My mind starts going crazy, I don’t know why exactly because clearly Cooper wouldn’t be coming to the interview this late, Layla has to be almost done.
I reach in the back seat for my purse. I dig through it and pull out my phone; I’ve got to distract myself with something. I open up Facebook and scroll through my newsfeed. A few minutes have passed and still no Layla.
“What in the world is taking so long?” I say to myself.
In the corner of my eye I see a white car pull into the parking lot.
“Shit.”
That’s Eli’s BMW. I try sinking down in my seat so that I’m not noticed, but by the sounds around me he’s parked right next to my car.
Goddamn it. Of all the luck to have.
I slowly sit up so it’s not too obvious that I was trying to hide but I keep my head down and act like I’m typing a message out on my phone.
I hear Eli open his door and then shut it. My heart is hammering and I’m sweating.
Damn it, I should have gone to go get coffee or something and had Layla text me when she was done. I’m so stupid.
There is a tap on my passenger side window. I look quickly and then back down to my phone and then back again acting surprised to see him. I just hope he’s stupid enough to fall for it.
I roll the window down. “Hey Eli.”
Eli narrows his eyes suspiciously at me, “Jaylinn.”
I set my phone down in the cup holder. I nod towards the building, “My friend is in there interviewing.” I say before he even asks.
Understanding washes over Eli’s face. “Layla?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to come in?” Eli asks.
My stomach flips, “No, that’s okay.”
“Cooper’s not coming in till later tonight if that’s what you’re worried about.” Eli explains, understanding my reluctance. “He’s with the team, a meeting or something came up.”
I look down to my phone, grab it, and then grab my keys and climb out of my car. Call it curiosity but I really want to see what they’ve done to the inside of this place. I also feel like going in here will be like getting a glimpse into Cooper’s new life without me. I wonder if he misses me. I haven’t heard a word from him, not a call or a text and honestly I thought he would have at least tried.
“Jay?” Eli startles me.
“Yeah?” I say, slightly embarrassed that I was lost in my own head.
He chuckles, “I asked how you’ve been.” Eli opens the door for me and we step inside.
The club is breathtaking. The floor plan is wide open with a huge black bar sitting in the center. It’s modern with a touch of bold. Black leather chairs are set up around the bar with blue diamonds on the back. Black booths with electric blue accents that match the blue in the chairs around the bar outline the walls. The ceiling to floor windows give the club a huge view of the beach.
“Jay?” Eli startles me again.
I shake my head trying to clear it, “Sorry. I’m doing fine, trying to keep busy.” I walk around the bar and see a set of stairs in the back.
“That’s good.” Eli walks over to the bar and puts his keys down. You know, he’s not the same without you.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I’m glad he’s not the same, neither am I. It’s almost a relief to know that someone else feels this way.
Eli huffs, “I’m the one that’s supposed to be interviewing Layla. I got tied up. Why don’t you have a look around and I’ll go do the interview with her real quick.”
“Sure.” I walk to the stairs. “Is it ok if I go up there?”
He smiles, “Of course.”
The smile on his face settles the uneasiness that I was feeling earlier. Eli walks down a hallway and I walk up the stairs. I push the black door open and squint my eyes, letting them adjust to the sunlight. The second floor is three quarters opened to a black bar that matches the one downstairs, and lines the only wall. I walk over to it to get a better look. I stop dead in my tracks when I see the words, the same words that are tattooed on me, Inhale you future, exhale our past, right above the bar. Tears spring to my eyes. Why would he do this? He has a huge piece of my heart painted on the wall of the bar he owns. A tear slips down my cheek but I don’t wipe it away. I needed to see this, if I can’t be a part of his life at least I get to see a little piece of it and now I know that a part of me that means so much is there for him to see every day.