The Cost Of Love And Sanity Read Online Free Page B

Her life needed change. She had to go after what she really wanted, instead of settling for the readily available. From now on, she would concentrate on moving her life forward. No looking back.
    The gas pump clicked. Startled from the noise, Alex pulled the tube from her car and placed it back in the hook. She screwed the cap back into her gas gauge, yawning. She shook the sleep away and jumped back into her car. While she vigorously rubbed her hands together with hand sanitizer, she could see someone in her rearview mirror tapping their fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for her to pull away from the pump. She hurriedly cranked up the car.
    Alex crept out of her spot and soon regretted it. A diesel truck had blocked the entrance of the station. Cars had piled into the pumps. She strained her neck to see the far end and noticed one lone pump vacant, providing barely enough space for her to exit. Alex pushed her foot on the gas pedal and wormed her way toward the carless space between pumps. But after she drove a mere few feet, a gray Acura pulled through her only escape route.
    â€œArgh! I can’t believe this,” Alex screamed.
    She scanned the other pumps and saw that cars were still beside each one. She turned behind her and saw that the truck blocking the entrance seemed to have no plans of moving.
    Alex faced forward again and sighed. Her eyes wandered over to the Acura and, for the first time, she saw the driver blocking her exit. It was Nathan Chestnut, the man she had dated ten yearsago. She winced and ducked her head down. Aww, man. Not today. She anticipated awkwardness between them. A lot of time had passed since she had last seen him and their breakup had left some issues unresolved. How would they treat each other now? She didn’t know and she feared finding out. Yet, part of her wanted another glimpse of him. She peeked over the edge of the window and focused on his neat appearance. He hadn’t changed much. He still possessed the same slender frame she remembered—almost like time had stood still for him. Not wanting to stare too long, she quickly darted her eyes downward, hoping he hadn’t spotted her.
    She had to do something; Alex couldn’t keep her head down forever. Maybe she could find a way to get out of the station parking lot before he noticed. She turned to her right to check the entrance. The diesel truck still showed no signs of moving and the driver that had taken her spot had walked toward the store.
    She decided to back up a little and try to wait for the driver to return to his car or for someone else to move. Alex turned to the left to see how much space she had. In that moment, she wished she’d kept her head down.
    â€œAlex! Alex!”
    Hearing Nathan call her from across the parking lot, she cringed. Okay. I’m going to count to three and slowly face him. One…Two…Three. When Alex did face him, Nathan closed his car door and took long strides around his hood. She watched his lengthy arms swing back and forward, while he glided in her direction. He had the same springy step. I wonder if everything else is the way I remembered. The good and the bad. Watching him walk toward her filled her with anxiety and want. Suddenly, Alex wanted to hear what Nathan had to say, even though her nerves were about to jump out of her skin. A part of her felt vindicated that he saw her and chose to greet her with such kindness. The other part of her stilldidn’t know how to handle their interaction. She took in a large gulp of air and prepared for the inevitable.
    â€œHello, Nathan.” Alex straightened her posture and replaced her worried frown with a fixed smile.
    â€œHey. I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s it going?” Smiling, Nathan reached for her and ran his hand over her upper arm.
    Her arm numbed at his touch. The sensation almost sidelined her response. “It’s going. How’s everything with you?”
    â€œOh,