Nothing but Heartbreak

Bonus chapter 2: cooking classes

Harlan's POV: (a week before jades wedding)

I hummed to myself as I danced around the kitchen making breakfast. I was finding that I really liked to cook and after many classes I was actually good at it. A fact that Jaxon was not complaining about.

Speaking of my roommate, he walked out of his room rubbing his tired eyes.

"Smells good." He said sleepily.

"Making pancakes." I told him as I mixed up the batter.

"Is she here?" He looked around.

I scrunched up my face and luckily my back was to my best friend and he didn't see it. It was seriously hard to lie to Jaxon but somehow I had been doing it for months so far. I knew it wouldn't last especially with Jade's wedding coming up in a week.

"Hmm?" I pretended to not know what he was asking.

"Come on I heard you come home late last night and she's got you cooking and shit. How come I haven't met this girl yet?" My best friend pressed.

Shit. This was not going to go well.

"She's not here." I told him and just continued with my pancakes as I poured perfect circles into the pan.

"She's coming to your sisters wedding though right? Jade gave you a plus one."

Jaxon wasn't going to let it go just like he's been pushing for me to date more. This whole thing was really his fault if you thought about it.

"No she's not coming." I shook my head.

"Ok what gives?" He crossed his arms and look at me with a frown.

I took a deep breath. Ok I guess we were going to do this now. Boy Jaxon was going to kill me.

"There's no girl." I cringed as the words came out.

"But you've been going on dates and you said she was a chef. She taught you how to cook."

"I've been going to cooking classes when I told you I was going on dates. And when I am not at classes I'm out drinking by myself." I explained.

"You're kidding." He just stared at me.

I was just going to stand here and wait for my pancakes and for the lecture Jaxon was about to give me.

"When's the last time you went out with an actual girl and not one of your fake girlfriends?" He questioned.

"Like six months ago?" I shrugged.

"No no no. Kristina was not your last date. She was the first girl you dated since college. You're telling me you went out with one girl for what? Three weeks? And haven't been out with anyone else since?"

I just nodded. That was exactly what I was saying. I was doing a very fantastic job at the whole moving on from Ava thing. I think I'm killing it actually.

"And you're going to Jade's wedding solo?" He continued.

"Yeah."

"Are you out of your mind?" He threw his hands up in frustration.

"Maybe but why would I take someone with me when the girl I want is already there?"

"I thought you were moving on. I thought you had excepted that things weren't going to happen between you two." Jaxon sighed.

"Well I thought about it and then decided I didn't want to so I didn't." I gave him a small smile hoping it would get him off my back.

"So what's the plan then? Walk into your sisters wedding and just confess your love for the maid of honor who you haven't seen in a full year?"

"Sort of. Ok I don't know the whole plan but I'll be able to see her and talk to her. I'll figure something out once I'm there." I waved him off.

"What if she brings a date? You know Jade gave her a plus one too."

My heart sank. Would Ava bring a date? What would I do if I had to watch her with some other guy?

"Then I'll leave her alone." Even as I said the words they felt like a lie.

It was really impossible to leave that girl alone. I just wanted her in my life so badly. I had no interest in letting this chance of seeing her and reconnecting go without a fight.

"Really?" My best friend just raised his eyebrows at me not believing a word I said.

"Well as long as it seems serious. And he's a good guy. And he makes her happy." I nodded.

And I'd have to try. I couldn't ruin a good thing just because I was selfish. If she seemed genuinely interested in her date and he seemed like he was good for her then I would back off. But I just hoped that didn't happen because it would kill me to have to walk away from her again.

"She rejected you, like a thousand times. You do remember that right? I think she's given you all the hints she can and it's time for you to take it. Please just think about bringing a date?"

I nodded but I wasn't going to do that. I was going to that wedding without a date and I was going to go home with Ava. Well at least that's what would happen in a perfect world.

"You know I should be mad at you for lying to me all these months but I got food out of it so I'll forgive you." I rolled my eyes as I flipped my pancakes.

"I'm sorry I should've just told you." I told my best friend truthfully.

Jaxon was the one person I had always been able to tell anything to without judgement. But this was the one thing I hadn't been able to admit out loud even to him.

"You could've." He agreed.

"I guess I just felt pathetic for still holding out hope after she's been avoiding me for whole year. I felt pathetic for thinking that when I'd finally see her again she'd tell me she loved me too and we'd ran off into the sunset together." I confessed.

"You're not pathetic, you're just living in a fairytale." He teased.

"You're a dick." I smacked him.

"You love me anyway." He laughed.

"Yeah whatever." I rolled me eyes and plopped a pancake on his plate.