Chapter 8

8

Easton

I pull up to Sorento's Italian and take a parking spot with one open next to it. What are we even going to talk about in there? Isla was a beautiful woman, still was, but could we ever be ourselves again? My heart was still broken from the last attempt, and I just don't know if I could let her in the same way.

I sat in my car, waiting for Isla to arrive and trying to find talking points that are safe for dinner. Our breakup was out of the blue. I thought we were both happy but obviously not. There was so many times I wanted to reach out but didn't. I figured if she wanted to hear from me, she would call, but it never came until she showed up at the office today. Life always had a funny way of throwing curve balls at someone when they become complacent.

That was exactly how my life was now. I was the boring guy who had the same routine every day. The last time I took a day off, heck I couldn't even remember. More than anything, I let work consume me and shielded myself from letting anyone else in.

Lonely.

As much as this project was important to me, so was my future. Why was I so hell bent on not letting myself feel happiness? After everything, maybe I needed to let my guard down one last time. Sure, Isla hurt me, but she could have had a good reason. And did it really matter? The only thing that should matter was how much I loved her still.

She knew everything about me. Before she came into my life, I had no one. Besides my grandmother, I never really had time to make friends. I was a loner for the sake of my future and now that I had my dream career, I should open myself up for something new.

Tonight should be a step in the right direction. I can't let myself ruin this. So, deep breaths.

You can do this!

Isla

My car pulled into the parking lot and I found his car and parked next to him. I smiled when we locked eyes and proceeded to get out of my car.

"Sorry, got stuck at the light."

Easton shrugged his shoulders and we walked into the restaurant. It was still early enough that there was vacant tables.

"Table for two, please."

The hostess took us to a table toward the back and I removed my jacket and put it next to me. Things were awkward and I should have expected that. It had been a long time since we had seen each other.

"So, have you been in Oregon this whole time?" I asked. It was an ice breaker.

"Yeah, Largen offered me an internship right after graduation. It was the only company that offered to pay me. All the others wanted me to work for free."

They knew how lucky they were to get someone like him. He would do everything he could to make the world better. "Well, how weird is it that we have been so close and yet never ran into each other."

"You've been here too? How long?" he asked, looking over his menu.

Why didn't get reach out? We could have caught up sooner had I known he lived in the same city as me. I tried to hide my unsettlement, but his eyes were locked on me.

"Since graduation."

"Why didn't you go to Texas? I thought that's where you wanted to end up?"

The waitress came over to get our order and funny enough we both wanted the same thing. I laughed a bit at that.

"Anyway, The teaching job offered to me from the high school paid well. Way better than Texas and staying here meant better chances at me getting up to the college level."

The real reason why I stayed was because after meeting him, I pictured my future here, in Oregon, not in Texas. I didn't dare tell him that, though. The college was the right place for me. It gave me the opportunity to consult with companies and earn some extra money on the side. Texas had strict rules. Oregon was better in that aspect.

"So, you are a professor too? Wow, that's amazing."

There were so many things I wanted to tell him. Yet, it just didn't seem like the right time. How did I tell him that us running into each other again had to mean something?