"Jesus. I always knew he had it bad for you, but he's, like...obsessed. What did you even say to him?" She asked incredulously, still staring at my flashing phone screen. I groaned heavily with frustration while resting my forehead in the palm of my hand.
                          
"It's a long story, so I'll give you the Sparknotes version. I confronted him when I found out he lied about the whole being in a bar fight thing and he freaked out. Then, I told him it was over because he'd lied to even after I explicitly told him that was one of the three things I wasn't going to tolerate. He then proceeded to get more mad and told me that I wasn't allowed to break up with him. He stormed out before I could get my final word in, so I texted him that he wasn't the only one who got a say in the relationship and that it was over. I didn't even give him a chance to reply because right after it delivered I immediately turned my phone off and went to bed."
                          
She chuckled. "You two are one hot ass mess of a couple. I just want to remind you, though, that anything Knox wants he always finds a way to get it. You know this, Poppy," she stressed. I didn't miss the concerned twinge in her voice.
                          
"You act like I didn't grow up with him, Ki," I grumbled. She emitted another round of laughter before nudging my shoulder, trying to lighten the mood. I decided against calling Knox right away; I needed to think about what I was going to say to him, and I really didn't care if he sat around and let his anger fester.
                          
I picked up my phone and sent a quick text to Corbin telling him he was right about Knox and that he and I weren't going to be together anymore. When he replied that he didn't believe me, I told him I wanted to get together and discuss what it was he was going to tell me about Knox the other day. He responded minutes later with a plan to meet at the same coffee shop we'd visited before.
                          
I was positive the only reason he agreed to meet me was to give me the information I'd asked for. I didn't blame him for his animosity towards me - I could see why he would believe I strung him along, but I did think he could've found a better way to communicate his displeasure that didn't include screaming at me on a public sidewalk. That was neither here or there and what's done is done. I threw on a pair of shorts and faded t-shirt, yelling a quick goodbye over my shoulder to Kiara before heading out.
                          
Entering the coffee shop, I saw Corbin sitting in the same window seat we'd occupied last time. Two drinks sat in front of him, collecting condensation and soaking through the napkin they were sitting on.
                          
"I got you green tea like you had last time. I figured I'd get you another since you left before you could finish it last time," he said with a smile.
                          
"You didn't have to do that, but thank you," I murmured genuinely, returning his friendly smile. I lifted the straw to my lips and took an appreciate gulp of the cold minty goodness after taking a seat.
                          
"So, you two are seriously over?" Corbin abruptly blurted, "because if so, that didn't last long at all," he chuckled. I flinched at the bluntness of his statement but he didn't seem to notice.
                          
"Yeah. I really don't want to get into what happened because that's kind of private, but he did something I didn't agree with and it was one of my deal breakers," I mumbled, not having any interest in talking about the subject further, trying to keep my explanation as vague as possible.
                          
"No shit? What was the deal breaker?" he prodded. I looked at him with an are you serious? expression. Did he not just hear me say that I didn't want to speak about it? I wasn't saying that for fun, but he apparently thought it was just an attempt at building suspense or something.
                          
"Like I said, I don't really want to talk about it. Just know that I am sorry for everything that happened between the two of us. I wasn't sure what my feelings were towards you until I allowed you to kiss me, but once we did I should've told you right away and been more up front. Letting you kiss me and then having a boyfriend the very next day was not...ideal. I understand how awful that must've looked from the outside, and I deeply regret it," I finished, conveying my sincerity in the best way I could.