Longer chapter, maybe the longest, Bo's POV, some bad language. If anyone out there is team Rainer - first, why are you reading this? And second...he may not come off all that great in this chapter. Or maybe your on his side in this. I don't know your life.

I know some people weren't totally on board with how the last chapter ended. Hopefully this one gives some clarity. I'm trying to keep this somewhat reality based, so you can feel free to let me know how you think that is going. I'm always happy to discuss my approach to these characters, and why I have them doing the things they are doing.

Not proofread. That's something that other, better authors do, lol

Enjoy

Bo stood in line, waiting to place her order. It was 12:30 on a Monday, and the restaurant she had come to for lunch was packed. She glanced at her watch – she didn't have court this afternoon, so it didn't really matter if she made it back in time, but it was a habit. Her eyes scanned over the menu again as she waited to order.

She finally made it to the front of the line, placed her order, paid, and waited. When her food was handed to her, she carefully maneuvered her way back to the table where Tamsin was waiting for her.

"This place is a zoo," she commented, sitting down.

"It's always like this," Tamsin said, taking a bite of her sandwich. "But it's only because the food is amazing."

Bo took a bite of her sandwich. "Dear God, you're right. Why have I never come here before?"

"Because the line is always crazy long?" Tamsin offered.

"Accurate," Bo said, nodding. "This really is amazing."

Tamsin took another bite and snagged Bo's phone off the table. "You missed a call while you were ordering," she commented.

Bo hesitated for a second and tried to hide it. "Oh, probably just something from work. I'll deal with it later."

"Sure, sure," Tamsin said. They ate for another few moments. "Alright, cut the shit," Tamsin said, wiping her mouth and dropping the napkin. "We both know I saw who was calling."

Bo sighed.

"And we both know that after I saw who was calling, I unlocked your phone and checked your call history."

"You did what?"

"And your texts."

"Tamsin!"

Tamsin shrugged. "So, what's the deal? Why is he calling? I thought we were done with him."

"We are. He's just having a hard time accepting it, I guess."

"Have you been talking to him?"

"No. That's probably why he's still calling."

"Rainer never was good at reading the room," Tamsin commented. "So, what now? Are you going to call him?"

Bo shrugged. "I guess at some point I have to. I've just been putting it off."

"Why?"

Bo sighed. "I don't know. I just haven't felt like dealing with him."

"And your track record of staying broken up with him hasn't been stellar," Tamsin commented.

Bo started to protest, and then stopped, realizing she didn't have a viable argument. "Yeah, true."

"Are you going to get back with him?" Tamsin asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"No."

"So call him."

"I will."

"Hooked up with Lauren yet?"

Bo coughed halfway through the sip she was taking. "What?"

"Dude, it's me. I'm not an idiot. Cut the shit."

"You use that phrase entirely too much."

"Maybe you can fool some of the others, but I notice. You get all googly eyed with her. It's gross. So, have you sealed the deal yet?"

"Lauren and I are just friends."

"So, not yet."

Bo sighed. "No."

Tamsin took another sip. "Look, do whatever you want. I think Rainer is a douche, but it's your life. I'm just saying if you're really done with him, call him, because based on your call history he's not going to oh my GOD, is he calling again right now?"

Bo looked at her phone and saw that it was, indeed, vibrating and displaying 'Rainer' across the screen.

"He's needy as fuck," Tamsin said under her breath.

"Language, we are in public," Bo chastised.

"Please just answer him so he doesn't interrupt my lunch anymore."

Bo hit the volume button the side of the phone, ending the vibrations. "I'll deal with him later."

They ate for a few more minutes. A text came through to Bo's phone. Rainer. Tamsin cut her a look, and Bo turned the phone off entirely, dropping it into her bag.

"What if your work calls you?"

"I'll be back soon enough. The world can survive without me for a little bit."

"Oh, speaking of being as needy as fuck –"

"Tamsin!"

"—I told this girl we were dating. So, if she shows up at the bar and tries to kick your ass…you know, try to fight clean."

"…what?"

Tamsin shrugged. "She's clingy, alright? Telling her she was the other woman was the only way I knew to get rid of her. She thinks we've been dating for about 18 months, so, you know, just roll with that."

"I thought I told you to stop doing this."

"It's not my fault they fall in love with me," Tamsin said, taking another bite.

"Didn't you promise me that Vex was your fake boyfriend now? I thought my rotation was done."

"The last time I used Vex he told the girl that he would step aside so we could be together."

"Damn, I should have thought of that…"

"Last time, I swear," Tamsin said.

Bo gave her a withering look. "Really?"

"…last time this week?" Tamsin amended.

Bo just sighed.

At 5:30p, Bo shut down her computer and took a deep breath. For the first time in a long time, she was done at the close of business. Her office was remotely organized, her files were more or less up to date – there were still things that she could spend time doing, of course, but for the day she had accomplished more than she had expected to.

As a result, she realized, she didn't have much of an excuse to put off calling Rainer. She sighed. She knew she needed to be an adult and get this over with. Tamsin was right – he wasn't going to stop calling. She had strung him along for two years. She couldn't expect him to accept they were broken up at this point, given their history of getting back together.

She pulled out her phone and texted Rainer. You want to talk. Let's talk. She quietly hoped it was a bad time and that he wouldn't answer. She started gathering her things.

In person?

She sighed again. You dated him for two years she reminded herself. She rolled her shoulders and texted back. Okay, fine. I'll meet you for coffee in 20.

Thirty minutes later Bo walked into the coffee shop near her office. She didn't come to this coffee house very often, despite its proximity to her work. Well, at least if I embarrass myself here I don't have to worry about finding a new place she thought.

Rainer was waiting for her at a table in the back when she entered. It was drizzling, and she shook the rain off her jacket as she approached the table.

"You're late," he commented as she sat down.

Bo rolled her eyes. "Really? We're starting there?" She sighed. "Sorry I'm late."

Rainer fiddled with the lid on his cup. "Sorry, you're right. I shouldn't have started that way. I'm on edge, I guess."

Bo nodded. "So. You wanted to talk?"

Rainer sighed. "You've been ignoring me. Again."

Bo nodded. "Yes, I have."

Rainer looked mildly surprised. "You've never admitted it before," he commented.

Bo shrugged. "What can I say, I guess I've grown."

Rainer ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't know…I don't know how to do this. Can we just put this insanity behind us? Please? I get it – you need me to back off. You aren't someone who thinks about the future, about making plans, and forever…and I'm okay with that. I can be okay with that. Just…let's just work through this. It's just a bad patch. We can do this."

Bo shook her head. "Rainer…"

"Do you love me?"

"Rainer…"

"I'm not trying to beg here, alright? Don't make me do this. I know I sound pathetic. I am pathetic. But…I just need to hear you say it. I just need to know that we can get past this."

"We can't, Rainer." Bo dropped her hands from the table to her lap. "We aren't going to get past this. This isn't just a bad patch. This is us fundamentally disagreeing over the direction of our relationship. You shouldn't have to moderate how you feel to be with me. That's wrong. We aren't right together. We both need to move on."

Rainer seemed stunned. He was quiet for a few beats, and slowly his face started to change from shock to irritation. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"What?"

"That I proposed. Why didn't you tell your friends?"

Bo sighed deeply. "I don't want to do this. It doesn't matter now, anyway, does it? We aren't getting married, we aren't together. Let's just leave it."

"I didn't even mean enough to you for you to tell them. You didn't even bring it up."

"No. I didn't."

"You never saw a future with me. The whole time. It was all just a game to you."

"It wasn't, Rainer. Honestly, it wasn't. I was trying. I wanted it to work. But we just…we weren't right. I know you think we were, but we weren't. It just took me a long time to finally realize it."

"What changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"What made you think we couldn't work it out?"

Bo hesitated, debating how to answer. "There was…I met someone else," she said, quietly.

Rainer sat back, clearly stunned. "Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"You cheated on me."

Bo took another deep breath, trying to choose her words carefully. "I kissed someone else, someone I've started having feelings for. It wasn't planned, it wasn't like I planned on trying to hurt you, but it happened, and it made me realize that you and I just…we just don't work, Rainer."

"Who is he?"

"Why does this matter?"

"I just want to know his name. Christ, you cheated on me with him, I should at least get to know his name."

"It's not a he," Bo answered.

Rainer paused. "What, so I ruined all men for you?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Bo said without thinking, her irritation spilling over.

Rainer laughed low in his throat. "You're unbelievable. I don't believe this."

"We aren't good together," Bo noted.

"Maybe because you slept with someone else!"

"I didn't sleep with her," Bo hissed. "Can you please keep your voice down?"

"I want to yell a little bit, your highness," Rainer spat.

"Alright, whatever," Bo said, pushing up from the table. "I'm done." Bo walked out the door.

Rainer followed her outside. "No, no, you don't get to do that!" he said, loudly, when they were on the sidewalk. "You don't get to get up and walk away like you're the bigger person here! I was invested in this relationship for two years! Two years, of trying to make this work, of falling in love with you, of putting up with your shit, of asking you to marry me! You don't get to announce you cheated on me and walk out like you're superior!"

"I don't want to do this on the street."

"I'd ask you to come back inside, but you just stormed out."

"I'm done, Rainer. I'm not doing this. I don't want to fight with you. I'm tired of dealing with you. This is a relationship that failed. Relationships fail all the time. Let it go."

"Let it go? Seriously? Two years together, and that's what you have to say to me?"

"Yes. That's what I say. Let it go."

Bo started to walk away when Rainer reached out to stop her. "Okay, wait, wait, wait. Stop. Just…come have a drink with me, alright? One drink. One drink and I'm gone."

"I don't want a drink, Rainer, I want to go home."

"Fine, one drink at the Dal then. That's all I'm asking of you."

"I don't want to talk to you!"

"No, I guess you want to head home so you can talk to her, whoever she is."

"She is Lauren. And, yeah, I'd much rather talk to her, actually. She doesn't tend to yell at me on the street, which I enjoy."

"One drink. Five minutes. And then I'm out of the way."

"What could you possibly hope to accomplish in five minutes?" Bo asked. Before he could answer, Bo walked away. Rainer trailed after her.

Bo walked into the Dal, feeling like she wanted to start throwing things. Rainer was still coming behind her. She walked behind the bar, grabbed a bottle and poured a shot. She threw it back and firmly set the shot glass on the counter. There. One drink. "Go home, Rainer," she spat.

"I want to talk to you."

"I told you I'm not doing this," Bo said, washing out the shot glass. "Go home."

"Five minutes. You at least owe me five minutes!"

"I don't owe you anything," Bo answered.

Kevin put his hand on Bo's arm lightly, and she jerked back at the contact. He put his hands in the air. "Five minutes. Five minutes, and I'm gone." The anger was clear in his voice.

Bo glanced around the bar, noting how many people were there, weighing whether it would be better to just talk to him and avoid making a further scene. They had already done that on the street and in the coffeehouse. "Fine. Five minutes."

They walked to the back office.

Once inside, Bo closed the door and turned to Rainer. "You're on the clock. Say whatever it is and get out."

Rainer paused, gathering himself. Bo crossed her arms and waited. "Alright, look. I loved you. You clearly didn't love me." Bo made no move to correct his statement. "And you cheated on me. So I think I'm entitled to a few minutes of honesty and yelling. You deserve yelling. You've been a bitch to me. You've shit all over me. And the whole time I just took it because, oh, you had some tragic childhood. Well, guess what, Bo? A lot of people have bad childhoods. It doesn't give you a free pass to treat everyone around you like garbage.

"You want to know the truth? You didn't love me because you aren't capable. What, you think this Lauren is going to be any different? Just because, what, you felt something when you kissed her? You felt something for me, too, if you remember. It's a game to you, an amusement. You don't have what it takes to really care about another person, you only care about yourself."

"You're not a victim, Rainer! You're a guy who had a bad relationship!" Bo was shouting now, too.

"You cheated on me! Don't act all fucking high and mighty! This wasn't a relationship that just didn't work out, this is a relationship you put no effort into before you cheated on me! I don't know what your parents did to you, since God forbid you let someone in enough to know what all this 'secret pain' shit you carry around is about, but they must have screwed you up pretty fucking bad. But, you know what? I don't care. I don't. I don't give a flying fuck, because in a way I pity you, because this is all you will ever have, a string of bad breakups because you aren't capable of being a real girlfriend or being in a real relationship with anyone."

"Get. Out."

"You think you get a free pass because your dad was a dick? You don't. You don't get to treat people like dirt because you were unhappy when you were little. Grow the fuck up."

"Your time is up. Get out."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to waste a few extra minutes with me when you could be hooking up with Laurie or whatever. Better get to that as soon as possible so you fuck up her life like you fucked up mine!"

"I didn't fuck up your life. You made your own choices."

"You're a vapid, shallow, selfish person. For your sake, I hope you grow up, but I'm not holding my breath."

"Lose my number. There's the door," Bo said, pointing.

Rainer stormed out, leaving Bo behind in the office.

She took a few minutes to try to get her breathing back under control, to try to calm herself down. She felt exhausted. When she felt more composed, she walked out of the office and approached Kenzi at the bar.

"I'm going upstairs," she said.

"Everything okay?" Kenzi asked.

"We aren't back together, don't worry," Bo said. "I'll see you later." She turned and went upstairs.

A few minutes later, Bo was in the apartment, trying to get her head back together. Rainer's voice was still in her head, echoing. She knew he hadn't been entirely wrong, which just made it all seem worse.

When had she become the person who got in fights with her ex-boyfriend in a bar? It sounded like something her mother would do. Not an appealing thought.

Her thoughts turned to Lauren, and she thought again about what Rainer had said. You aren't capable of being a real girlfriend or being in a real relationship with anyone. The evidence supported that statement, didn't it? She had spent her entire life desperately making sure she didn't need anyone, until, finally, she didn't. Wasn't it naïve to think that her potential relationship with Lauren could be different?

She was still thinking when a knock came to her door. She sighed, have expecting to find Rainer waiting for round three. She opened the door and saw Lauren, and almost felt herself involuntarily smile. "Hey, what's up? Come in," she said, stepping to the side.

"Hey, I won't stay long," Lauren said, stepping in but staying the entryway. "I just wanted to see if you were…you know, alright?"

Bo felt puzzled for a moment and then understanding dawned on her. Lauren must have been in the bar. She hadn't seen her. Shit. "I didn't see you downstairs."

"You were preoccupied," Lauren said with a shrug. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, he just needed to…yell a little, I guess." Bo tried to play off how much the fight had affected her; she wasn't sure if it worked or not.

Lauren nodded. "I still say he's a dick."

Bo laughed. "Yeah, maybe, but he isn't entirely wrong," she commented.

"Hey, there is something else that I need to talk to you about," Lauren said, cautiously.

Bo looked at her without saying anything.

"Vex…he kind of wants to set me up with someone."

"Oh." The words registered with Bo like a punch to the gut.

"And I mean…I don't know, I guess I just wanted to check in with you…sorry, never mind…I don't know why I'm bringing this up."

"Are you ready to start dating again?"

Lauren shrugged. "I don't know. No. Probably not. But Vex seems to think I need to have, I don't know, a rebound, or whatever."

Bo nodded. "A rebound." Well, this sucked.

"Yeah. So I don't screw things up when – the next time I want a relationship."

"I get that." Bo's voice was soft. She wasn't looking Lauren in the eye.

Lauren let a beat of quiet pass, and the she sighed. "I don't have to do this. I can tell Vex no."

"I think you should do it." Bo said the words quickly, before she could stop herself.

"You do?"

Bo nodded. "Yeah, I mean, Vex is right. This could be good for you." Each word stung Bo, be she knew she needed to say them. Rainer had been right – she wasn't capable of having a relationship. Maybe she could eventually, but at least for now, he had been right. She felt raw, broken. And Lauren…as much as she wanted Lauren to say no to Vex's idea, Bo knew that it was right. Lauren had broken up with Nadia months ago, and the relationship had been far less damaging than Bo's relationship with Rainer. Lauren needed to put herself back out there, try dating again. She deserved that.

"Sure, I mean, I guess," Lauren said, sounding uncertain.

"Do it. Seriously. I'm really happy you're getting back out there. You should be with someone great. Who knows? Maybe this girl Vex knows will be perfect for you." This is the worst night ever Bo thought, though she took quiet solace in the idea that, for once, she was doing the right thing.

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe." They stood awkwardly in entryway a moment longer. "Well, uh, I guess I better go. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Bo nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."

Lauren gave her a tight lipped smile and turned to leave, but before she could, Bo reached out and wrapped her in hug. She didn't want to let her go; somehow Bo felt that as soon as she released Lauren, she would be releasing her into the arms of someone else. She deserves to be happy Bo reminded herself. And you can't be what she needs right now. Let her go.

After a few moments, Bo stepped back. They bid their goodbyes, and Lauren walked out, closing the door softly behind her. Bo sagged back against the wall. She stood there for a few minutes longer, replaying the whole evening in her head. She looked at the clock – all this and it was only just after 7. She sighed deeply, and turned to go to bed.

I love to hear your thoughts.