The ride, called the Twister, consisted of pods for up to four people, spinning while suspended from a crane-like structure. A central disc controlled the speed.

Aaron didn't want to ride it, but Keeley looked excited.

"Oh, we used to love this ride!" she exclaimed.

"We?" he asked grumpily. Had she gone there with another man?

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Kaleb and me."

Kaleb—her brother? She never mentioned him. Why now? Did this mean she trusted him?

"He wasn't strong enough to spin the wheel but always wanted to go super-fast, so I would spin it for him," she said matter-of-factly.

Apparently, whatever trauma she had about discussing her brother was gone. What had changed? He wanted to ask but couldn't explain why he knew so much.

"Well, I'm clearly stronger than you, so I can spin the wheel even faster," Aaron boasted, unsure what else to say.

"Is that so?"

They strapped into harnesses, facing each other in a pod. Once the ride started, Aaron turned the wheel with all his might.

Keeley's eyes lit up as they spun faster, and she grinned broadly. Seeing her smile, he didn't mind his aching arms. The wheel was harder to turn than he expected.

Later, at the ticket counter, they received several small prizes. Aaron let Keeley keep them; he had no interest. One was a rubber popper. Keeley accidentally hit a child in the head with it.

The child cried, and the look of panic on Keeley's face when she saw the angry parent was comical.

"Run!" she hissed, abandoning the popper.

Aaron, with his longer legs, grabbed her hand and they ran to his car.

"Man," Keeley wheezed, breathless. "I thought that kid's dad was going to kill me."

"I'm glad he didn't, but I'm sorry you lost your popper."

She waved it off. "You can buy those in bulk for a dollar. No big deal."

Aaron hadn't expected to enjoy the children's restaurant, but it was surprisingly pleasant, largely due to Keeley's amusement. It felt like the good old days. He missed that.

"That was fun," he said sincerely. "This place was a good choice."

Keeley looked at him as if he were insane.

A good choice?! She'd chosen it to annoy him, as had her outfit! Nothing worked on this guy? She couldn't understand it.

This was Aaron Hale, the killjoy who'd sucked the life out of their miserable eight-year marriage. And he'd just called something silly and cheap "fun" and a "good choice."

Keeley had chosen the most obnoxious place she could think of because she knew he wouldn't refuse to buy her lunch. She was tired but wanted to get back at him for dragging her around.

That backfired spectacularly. Now she was even more exhausted from running.

The car clock read 1:52 PM. She'd been with Aaron for nearly five hours—the longest in this life.

It wasn't entirely horrible. She'd enjoyed the kittens at the shelter and some arcade games. The activities were nice, but the company

As time passed, she understood him less and less. He was a different person. How was that possible?

They were both Aaron. Raised the same way. Even minor differences shouldn't be this significant!

He wasn't supposed to be nice, like animals, or enjoy normal things. That wasn't Aaron. Had an alien abducted him and given him a personality transplant?

No, he was still cocky and cold at times—definitely Aaron. Why was he like this? What had triggered the change?

It was ironic. If he'd been like this in her past life, she wouldn't have stopped loving him. But Keeley had no emotions left for this man.

When he dropped her off at the fake apartment building, she knocked on his window.

"Yes?"

"Hey, um…I'm really busy, so please don't ask for favors again. I have to start my dissertation, and that will consume my life for the next year and a half."

She needed to be clear; she didn't have time to waste on him. Her life didn't revolve around his whims anymore. She wouldn't let him walk all over her again.

"What if there's an emergency?" he asked blankly.

Keeley was exasperated. "I'm not your emergency contact! I don't even own a car; I can't help you in an emergency."

"Just being there would help me."

He was crazy! How would her presence help?! "I don't have time. Really. Good luck with your cat…and thanks for lunch. Bye!"

She walked back to her apartment building, encountering Aiden in the lobby with a giant tank with tubes.

"What on earth is that?"

"Oh hey, Keeley! This is my hamster palace! It's a work in progress. I'm getting two or three hamsters and want them to have lots of tunnels."

She examined it. "There are already eight; how many more do you need?!"

"However many it takes," he said dramatically. "Um…could you maybe grab the other end? It's slipping."

She chuckled. There was always something, wasn't there? "Sure thing."

The extraneous material about a website was removed as it was irrelevant to the text itself. I also corrected minor spelling and grammatical errors throughout.