Super.” She hoped it sounded convincing.
He looked down at the papers spread in front of him.
“You need an accordion file for that, my friend,” she said.
He sighed. “Yep. That’s the Aubrey I remember. So, what are you doing here? Selling office supplies?”
“No.” She sat down across from him and pulled a packet of papers out of her purse. “I’m doing a soul-searching, relationship-investigation kind of thing, and I’m asking all my exes to give me some insight into what went wrong so I can have healthier relationships in the future.” She nodded, like this was something people did every day.
“Really?” Dane stared at her and she thought he looked handsomer than ever, but he didn’t send her heart racing at all. Not like Ian had. Bad Aubrey. Ian’s married.
“I have this fifty-part questionnaire for you to fill out and return at your leisure, but hopefully within a week.” She plucked an envelope from her purse. “And a self-addressed stamped envelope to return it.” She pushed the paperwork across the desk towards him.
He leafed through the papers, and then set them down with a sigh. “Aubrey, can I be honest with you?”
She raised her eyebrows. “That’s what I’m hoping for.”
He tapped the papers. “This kind of thing is why it didn’t work out with us.”
“What do you mean? I never gave you a survey. Well, a couple from Cosmo, but that’s what they’re there for.”
“You just tried too hard with everything.”
“What?”
He sighed. “We couldn’t just go out to dinner. You had to get online and look up reviews and see if you could find a coupon. Then you’d create a spreadsheet on the pros and cons of each option. And alternate driving directions for each location.”
“I didn’t want us to waste our time or money.”
“You never could be spontaneous.”
“I’m responsible.”
“Slightly anal.”
Her hands flew to her hips. “Well, you snore!”
Dane stood up. “Another reason it wouldn’t have worked—because you do, too. We would’ve woken our kids.”
She gasped. “I do not!”
He handed her the paperwork. “You might want to add it to your survey to be sure.”
She grabbed the packet from him and stomped out of the trailer. She stood there fuming, and then she stomped back up the stairs, flung open the door and tossed the survey on his desk. “At least fill out the part about the kissing. You always seemed to enjoy that.” And she slammed the door behind her.
She went back to the drive-through and ordered a milkshake. She was now officially glad Dane had dumped her. Once she felt better, she grabbed her phone to reach Lance Kwitoski. He was a teacher, she’d learned on her Internet search, and hopefully he could squeeze her in after class. She dialed the school and was put right through to his room.
“Lance Kwitoski,” he said.
“Hi, it’s Aubrey Carter.”
“Wow.” He laughed. “Blast from the past. Our high school reunion’s not coming up is it?”
“No. I wanted to get together and ask a few things. About us.”
“Us?”
“About why we broke up. I mean, why you broke up with me.”
“About why we broke up. Back in high school.”
“Yes.”
He left her waiting with a long pause, then said, “I guess we could meet up this weekend.”
“What about today? After school?”
“That’s in an hour.”
“Perfect!”
“Well…sure. I guess. Come on by.”
***
At 3:00 she drove up to the building where they both had gone to high school. Lance had been a health teacher there since he’d graduated from college. Hopefully, he was a better teacher than a student. She climbed the stairs to the second floor, past the posters for the Valentine’s ball. She’d gone to the prom with Lance and her heart ached just remembering that sweet rose corsage and her long, pink gown, and the way his hands had circled her waist as they swayed to their song; how she rubbed his back while he puked from drinking too much that night. She sighed. Lance was her first love and her first heartbreak. Images of those two memories swirled through her brain.
His door was open, so she walked in. He looked up from his desk and smiled. “I haven’t seen you since high school.”
“Crazy, right?”
“Wow. Look at you. More beautiful than ever.” He stood up and hugged her and she tried to remember why they did break up. He sat down at a desk and she sat next to him, pulling her chair closer to his.
“So, after all these years you wanted to talk about us?”
She looped her hands around her knees. “I just want to know