Sunday Snippet: Going Downhill

My week in TV started with an intense episode of Walking Dead and kept amping up from there with Arrow and Bitten. I kind of wish I had a Chris Hardwick type to decompress with after watching the latter two also. LOL Seriously, the season finales may break my brain. And the glimpses we're getting of Orphan Black have me impatiently waiting for April 19.

Tonight's post is from Going Downhill, a novella about betraying love and the fallout afterwards.

Here's the tagline:

Zetta and Mace have a messy breakup and dive into relationships with other people. Two years later they bump into each other and both are worse for being apart.

And a snippety peek…

Mace dropped the half-eaten sandwich. "Why do you stay with me?" He shoved the plate aside and fought an urge to heave.

Deb lifted a brow. "You're asking me now?" She arose from the couch and gathered up their trash, carrying it to the kitchen.

Mace waited until she returned with two cold beers before responding. "Yes. I'm asking. I'd like to know."

Deb took a long swallow of her ale. "Convenience." She picked at the label on the bottle, peeling an edge away from the surface. "I hate the whole dating scene. Never knowing for sure if I'll end up with a great guy or some stalker who wants to murder me in my sleep isn't my idea of fun." She shuddered. "I've known you a long time and when Zetta left with her new husband, I saw a chance to be with someone who would treat me well even if he could never love me." She shrugged. "So, I stay with you because it's convenient, which maybe makes me sound pathetic, but we enjoy a lot of the same things, treat each other with respect, and don't expect a forever and ever after." She stopped toying with the label and raised her gaze to his. "And the sex is pretty great, too."

Mace huffed out a chuckle. "Even after I've put on thirty pounds in the last year?" He shook his head. "Never mind. You're nothing if not brutally honest, which I appreciate." Mace reached out and grasped her free hand. "Now it's my turn." He squeezed her fingers. "Convenience aside, you deserve better, and I want you to go after someone who can love you." He let go. "I think Mike Warner would jump at the chance to go out with you." He settled back, waiting to see if she'd consider the idea.

Deb tilted her head, studying him for several moments. "You think so?" She straightened. "Wait. Are you breaking up with me?" She fidgeted with the bottle again. "Because it sounds like you are."

Mace hedged. "It's not so much breaking up as setting you free. Why stay tangled up with me when I've got some serious life issues to work though? I'm not the man I want to be… but I don't know if or when I'll ever get there." He gently added. "It's not fair to ask you to stick around when I need to focus on me."

Deb's lips twisted in a sad smile. "I guess not, especially when your biggest hurdle isn't around to be knocked down." She got up and walked toward the door, grabbing her jacket and purse from the coatrack. "Take care of yourself, Mace. You deserve to find someone who will love you and stick around." She twisted the knob, then glanced back over her shoulder. "If you see Mike before I do, have him call me, okay?"

Mace nodded. What else could he do? Deb exited, closing the door quietly behind her.

A lighter feeling settled over him followed by a heavy dose of determination. He'd let Deb down as easily as possible, but her parting remark about being loved by someone who would stick around echoed in his head.

The truth of her words rang true, but after going downhill over a bad break-up he figured getting his shit together should be his priority. And the first step would be to get back into some kind of fitness routine, which meant getting off his ass and doing something physical.

Determined, he got up, grabbed his keys from the side table and snagged his jacket.

A nice stroll around the park should be a good place to start.

As far as break up scenes go, I struggled with this one. Deb isn't the woman for Mace and he's finally pulling his head out of his ass enough to realize it… but I didn't want either to turn into a stereotypical butthead or shrew, so… I wrote a very civilized split, keeping in line with their very civilized, if somewhat wrong, relationship. I hope I achieved the feeling I wanted. J

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin