Missie wiped down the sink and rolled her eyes at the half-eaten box of message hearts that Mark extended towards her. She'd come to the conclusion that the man must buy out everything that is left in the stores on February fifteenth at the discount price, cause a week later he's still eating sweets that are red and pink.
"I take it you really like Valentine's day candy?" Missie asked, drying the barware in the racks and shelving them.
"What makes you think I didn't just have a lot of Valentine's?" He winked and play-punched at her harm.
Missie was getting the bar ready for the night crowd. She'd worked less while she'd been dating Mike, but lately she found herself picking up extra shifts just so she had an out. She knew that she didn't have a really good reason to feel this way, and she recognized that she always did this. She panicked when guys got serious. She tried to calm herself down and get over it. She'd taken Gina's advice to keep things interesting, and she'd even went as far as to meet his parents. She really liked Mike, he was a cool guy. They had fun, and the sex was good, when they had it.
He was just ready for something she wasn't. Mike was making it clear that he was crazy about her, and while Missie did like him, she just wasn't where he was.
"So tell me Mark, how do I let this guy down easy?" Missie asked.
Mark winced and sucked a breath in through his teeth. "You may be asking the wrong guy." She thought he was walking away but he just slid around the bar and sat on a stool across from where she was drying glasses. "I am not known for my great break-up etiquette."
Missie laughed. That was definitely true. Mark's reputation preceded him. "I know." Missie said, "I just don't want to make things awkward, but I wasn't looking for a relationship. I really wasn't. He's a lot more into me then I am into him too, and that is just a recipe for disaster."
Mark nodded and popped some more candy into his mouth. "I think," he mumbled around the sugar, "you're just going to have to be honest and tell it like it is." He swallowed and then pointed at her. "You're also going to have to get used to the idea that he's going to be offended, or hurt one, and except the fact that he isn't going to want to see you for a while."
Missie sighed. She had always prided herself on remaining friends with the guys she hooked up with, but Mark was right. This would be different because she'd let it become a relationship and Mike was going to feel rejected.
"Don't do it all at one though." Mark said. Missie frowned and tilted her head.
"I mean, create some distance first. Maybe blow him off once or twice before you tell him, that way he will either already be frustrated with you, or at least not feel like it came out of left field." he shrugged and got up from the stool. Missie laughed, that was true Mark advice.
"I need to check on the kitchen before the dinner crowd. You'll be fine though, Missie. You've never been a liar. Just lay it out there." He nodded towards her before walking away. Missie stood there still drying and shelving glasses and thought about what Mark said. maybe she was naive to think there was such a thing as an easy break-up. She let herself get comfortable with Mike, but the comfort felt suffocating. It shouldn't feel that way. Not to mention, he was talking about introducing her to his extended family and that simply wasn't something that Missie was ready for. Maybe she was being self-centered, but she just wasn't ready. She needed space.
Maybe she'd leave out the part about feeling suffocated. No need to deliver any extra blows if she didn't have to.
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