Free More Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories (The Flirts! Short Stories Collections) by Lisa Scott Page A

cry, you will not cry .
    Simon held up his hands and took a step back. “Please just leave.”
    “I thought it was a clever idea. I wanted to help make it happen for you. For us.”
    “And that was exactly the problem. It either happens, or it doesn’t. You can’t make a relationship work.”
    She took the packet of papers out of her purse then crumpled them in her hand. What was the use? Every guy had told her the same thing—she tried too hard. She’d always thought that had always been one of her greatest strengths.
    Simon looked around the room. A line of sweat was beaded above his lips. “Can you please leave? I’m going to be nervous that voters will demand a recall election until you’re out of the county.”
    She forced a smile. “Thanks a lot for making Ian look even better.”
    “Huh?”
    Shaking her head, she tossed the packet in the trash, and went back to her car.
    Her phone buzzed, indicating a text had arrived. Aubrey fished it out of her purse and frowned. It was from Kyla: “Stone and I want you to come out for dinner with us on Valentine’s Day. We’ve already made reservations for three.”
    Kyla texted back. “Sorry, I can’t.” Kyla and her new boyfriend deserved a quiet, romantic night—alone.
     
    ***
     
    When she got home from Vermont, she grabbed the pile tucked into her mailbox and went inside. Stuck in between the magazines and sales flyers were five thick envelopes. Since Simon wouldn’t be filling one out, everyone else had gotten back to her. She impressed by how quickly they’d filled out the questions. They probably had just wanted to get it over with.
    She ripped open the first envelope and scanned the answers. She’d gotten a five out of five for kissing, four out of five for humor, and a two of out five for flexibility. I really should have clarified if I meant that in a physical or accommodating way .
    By the time she got to the essay questions, she figured out this was from Dane, because it said the same thing he’d told her in person—she snored. Who knew he was such a liar?
    The four other packets held few surprises—besides a report that she occasionally had a stray hair growing on her chin. What? This whole project left her feeling worse than when she had started. She called Diana and made an appointment for the next day and wondered if she should buy two boxes of candy to eat by herself on Valentine’s Day.
     
    ***
     
    “How am I supposed to not try too hard? I’m passionate about things. Do you think I try too hard?” Aubrey asked Diana during her appointment after work Monday.
    Diana choked on her coffee. “You do your best to make things work. Like with the survey. Gung-ho is a good description for you.”
    “I thought gung-ho was a good thing. Wasn’t there a cartoon character named Gung-Ho Phooey?”
    “I wouldn’t know about that. But gung-ho is a good thing. You just need to find someone who’s gung-ho about you, too. And then you won’t have to try at all, because it’ll just happen. The guys were right, though. Working hard isn’t going to save a relationship that wasn’t meant to be.”
     
    ***
     
    Aubrey went home and grabbed the mail before going inside to drown her sorrows in chocolate syrup. As she flipped through the bills and ads while pouring Hershey’s syrup on a spoon and licking it off—a new personal low—she spotted an envelope with no return address. She ran her sticky finger under the flap and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
    Sucking in a breath, she opened it and read the five short sentences typed out: “I wasn’t honest with you. You were perfect and it scared me. I still love you. I should have tried harder. I should have tried as hard as you did.”
    Her heart pounded and she flipped the letter over. It wasn’t signed! Who’d sent it? Each of her exes had seemed happy with their lives and not at all disappointed they were no longer a couple.
    She hopped off the couch and paced the apartment. Should she