Kissing Frogs

TWENTY-ONE || Done Kissing Frogs

|TWENTY-ONE|

There are two crucial periods in a person's dating life. Up until this point I was in my happy, fairy tale world I now refer to as B.C. (Before Corey). But after the dumpster fire that was our break-up, I now lived in the depressing new age A.C. (After Corey). And in this world, love felt impossible. I never thought I'd get those joyful fluttering feelings of romantic wonder ever again.

Not even The Notebook helped. Normally, I cried watching the love between Allie and Noah bloom and come to fruition. It made me crave all things heart-shaped and glittery. But A.C. I watched the entire movie with a blank, unfeeling stare.

My mom even went into break-up mode with me. Movie marathon, pizza, ice cream, helping me destroy all things Corey—and nothing. She looked at me like I transformed into a different person overnight. But her concern had nothing on Hugo.

"Please," Hugo begged the day after homecoming at his parent's bakery. He helped me load fresh loafs of bread into the display case and was continuously denting every loaf he picked up. "Can't you be careful with your heart for once? If not for yourself then for me?"

He had been going off on one of his tangents for a while, but now I peered up at him curiously. "Why for you?"

He paused and took a breath, shifting his weight back to look down at me properly. "Because it hurts me to see you hurt, and I'm tired of hurting like this all the time."

"Hugo..."

"Take it from someone who actually loves you," he interrupted gently. "Maybe it's time to take a break from this."

I was planning on taking a break anyway, so I just nodded. It wasn't like me to do things the Hugo way, but the whole Corey experience changed everything. Even though it went against everything I believed in, I had to slow down. If Corey taught me anything, it was that some opportunities are okay to miss. In fact, just don't take them at all. Ever. Save yourself.

I was focused on me, now. Me and my friends. I was done kissing frogs.

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"So, Pete's pretty nice. Makes good popcorn," Hugo said to break up the silence we'd been sitting in for the past hour while watching Parks & Recreation.

"Yeah, he's alright." I shrugged. "He'll probably make you coffee in the morning too. That's, like, his ritual. My mom hasn't touched the coffee maker since he moved in."

"Huh."

Again, silence. Hugo was doing that thing where he psyches himself up for a conversation. I was trying to ignore it. The night was going so well, and I could already tell he was thinking of some way to bring it up.

And then...

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened that night?" Hugo asked while oh-so-casually  propping his chin up in his hand. "It's been months. I won't lose my cool."

Knew it.

I changed the channel boredly and shoved a handful of popcorn in my mouth. "Oh, something tells me you'll lose your cool."

He launched an M&M at me. "You know, that only makes me assume the worst."

Groaning, I pulled myself out of our blanket fort and crossed my living room to rummage through the DVD collection. "Can't you just trust me when I say it doesn't matter?"

He poked his head out of the blanket fort just to make sure I could see his expression which was both unimpressed and dripping with skepticism.

"No actually, because you haven't been yourself since," he reasoned. "At first I thought it was your normal break up blues, but now it's just eerie. We didn't even watch Mama Mia! and every time I sleep over here you make me watch it. I know the songs, Ingrid. Every word."