Free One Step Away (A Bedford Falls Novel Book 1) by Sydney Bristow Page B

okay?”
    “Done. I don’t envy you – getting your heart
ripped out. It was the most excruciating thing I’ve ever lived
through. That how it feels for you?”
    Alexander didn’t want to admit the truth out
loud, which would equate to admitting defeat.
    “Imagine spending years of loving each
other, only to have her rip your heart out. It’s way worse.”
    It lent the impression that Damon had never
given up hope on revisiting love at some point in his life. It
startled Alexander because his friend hadn’t mentioned the
relationship that crushed him in over a decade, and he figured that
having persuaded dozens of women into his bedroom would have
annihilated the eternal hope of rediscovering the love he once felt
for another human being.
    At that moment, movement caught his
attention from the corner of Alexander’s eye: Marisa had just
entered the bar with her on-again, off-again boyfriend named,
Brad.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
     
     
    After the debacle with Alexander and the
disappointing incident at her parent’s home, Marisa wanted to get
her mind off the negativity surrounding her relationships and
celebrate her promotion. She called Brad and suggested they go out
dancing. Since he only acted like an adult while at work, she had
only recently given up hope that he would become more mature and
seek a long-term relationship.
    Marisa didn’t attempt to change his
principles and accepted him for his better qualities: just enough
intellectuality to keep things interesting (despite sometimes
lacking common sense), a fun-loving, easy-going nature, a
spontaneous streak that she found intoxicating, and an amazing
body.
    “Marisa,” a female voice called out.
    Hearing her best friend since middle school,
Lauren Zarsky, in the vicinity, she turned around, only to get
enveloped in a reticent hug, which mirrored Lauren’s approach to
life: conservative and jaded but extremely loyal.
    “Glad you came,” she said, her impenetrable
expression betraying her words. The familiar scent of ginger
drifted from her body as she broke their embrace. “Denny couldn’t
come,” she said, shrugging. “You’re stuck with me.”
    Although Lauren maintained a dour outlook on
life, she never caught a cold or contracted an illness or disease,
while her boyfriend balanced that with unbreakable optimism but
always seemed to get catch a cold every season and suffered through
so many health afflictions that his doctor could grow rich just
from tending to his numerous maladies.
    “How’s he feeling after the injury?” Marisa
asked.
    “It’s just an ankle sprain. But knowing
Denny, he’ll turn it into a broken ankle before long. It’s why I
never liked football. Brutal and pointless.”
    “I just saw someone,” Brad said from behind
Marisa. He grasped her shoulders and pecked her on the cheek. “I’m
going to see what’s up.” He headed off into the crowd.
    “Brad’s looking good,” Lauren said, watching
him walk away. “If I were single, I’d steal those candles from your
mother’s home and give him a night he’d never forget.”
    Marisa couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She
had no idea what Lauren had in mind, and she had no interest in
finding out. But she wasn’t threatened by the comment because
Lauren would never leave her seven-year relationship; although
unmarried, she and Denny owned a home together and offset each
other’s extreme attitudes and opinions, which seemed to work for
them. Besides, Marisa had known her friend long enough to realize
that she would never find the backbone, or the interest, in staging
such a wicked seduction.
    “Congratulations on the promotion,” Lauren
said with actual enthusiasm, which she used all day at the flowers
shop she owned and operated. “How does it feel?”
    Marisa’s thoughts diverted to Alexander. If
he hadn’t opted out of interviewing, would she have still gotten
the job? It reminded her that two weeks from now, she would no
longer see him every day. While they