Free The Other Side of Love (Forever Love) by J. S. Cooper Page A

hide the fact that she was impressed by my muscular frame. I tried to ignore the feelings of pleasure that rose in me again at her obvious interest. I was in no place to start dating.
    “Glad you’re concerned for me.” I started jogging in place. “But I should be going now.”
    “You got your phone?”
    “Yeah , why?”
    “Take my number. In case you ever change your mind and want to get that drink.” She smiled. “And I’ll even buy the first round.”
    “How can a guy say no to that?” I smiled at her and handed her my phone.
    “I don’t know. How can a guy say no to that?” She grinned at me impishly and then handed me back my phone.
    “Only a fool would say no!” I slipped the phone back into my pocket. “And I dare say I am that fool.”
    “Well, fools can change their ways.” She hesitated before continuing. “I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward. I just feel really bad about how I acted in the restaurant. I’m new to Los Angeles and I’m the cliché drama student who wants to be an actress and make it big and, well, I’m just trying to meet some new people. And not sleep my way to the top, though it seems that all producers want to do is see how far I’m willing to go on the casting couch.” She paused and slapped her hand to her mouth. “Not that you wanted to know any of that.” She sighed. “Sorry again. I’m an over-sharer.”
    “Then you fit into Los Angeles already.” I gave her a reassuring smile as I studied her face. I liked her like this, not so confident and slightly out of her element. It made me feel like we had something in common. “We all over-share here. It’s a problem we have. It’s like we all think our lives are a movie and we want everyone to understand every single part of it. Cue angsty music from Paramore.” I laughed and she joined me, while running her hands through her hair.
    “You haven’t really shared much with me , though.” She pursed her lips. “I barely know your name.”
    “That’s because I don’t live my life as if it’s a movie.” I looked to the ground for a moment before looking back up and catching a flicker of remorse on her face. “But really , I should get going. I’ll give you a call sometime,” I lied to her.
    “That would be great.” She nodded at me, and looked away. “I’ll catch you later, Noah.”
    “Yeah.”
    I ran away from her quickly, feeling suddenly alone as I left her. As I got to the corner, I looked back quickly to get one more glimpse of her and I saw her still standing in the same place staring blankly at the space in front of her. My heart panged for her as I wondered what she was thinking about. Part of me wanted to run back to her and find out what was going on in her life. I wanted to know where she grew up, where she had gone to college, why she wanted to be an actress, what sort of actress she wanted to be. I wanted to tell her that she was so much more than just the cliché drama student who comes to L.A. to make it big. She had charisma and character. She was someone that you didn’t forget easily. She was someone I wasn’t going to forget easily. Even though I barely knew her.
    But instead I continued running away from her. I couldn’t help her or save her. It wasn’t fair to bring her into the confusion in my life. Not when I still had so much unresolved. Not when my heart still had a hole in it the size of the Mississippi. I thought back to what Sidney had said about moving on in life and making a fresh start. But a part of me didn’t want to forget. A part of me still hoped that everything could still work out. And while I still had hope, it wasn’t fair to bring someone else into my life. No matter how many times my stomach flipped just thinking about her.

Chapter 6
     
    “I just want it to be us, Noah. I know you love Zane and he means something to me. But I just want it to be us. You can move here, to France, and we can make up for all the years we’ve lost.” She