Page 3 of My Turn

“Roadkill café,” I answered. “You kill it, we grill it.”

Jayce’s deep laugh made me smile. “So, you forgot to take your crazy pills again, I see.”

“Ha ha. Why are you calling me?” I stripped out of my shirt and tossed it into my room. It landed on the floor, which was fine. I’d get to it. Eventually.

He hummed thoughtfully. “You should be jumping for joy and thanking me.”

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why am I thanking you?”

“Because I did it.”

“Did what?”

“It.”

I stopped in the middle of throwing a frozen pizza in the oven. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. This is not a drill. I’ll come over and we can pop a fresh bottle of this stuff.”

“Hell yes- Wait.” I checked the date on my phone and nearly stomped my foot. “I have something to do tonight.”

There was a short silence on the other end. “More important than this?”

I wanted to say no. We’d been working on this for years, ever since we were broke college students. Bailing on my plans sounded like an amazing idea considering I’d been going back and forth about canceling for a week already. It was important, though- a positive move toward a life that wasn’t overshadowed by a dead fiancé. That was a step away from being a widow and I didn’t want it to define me.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I have… a date.”

It was stupid to feel like I was doing something wrong. Jake was Jayce’s brother, but we’d talked about how shitty it would be when I put myself out there again. He knew it would come eventually and I didn’t think that he would be upset about it.

So, why did I feel such a sense of shame right now?

“A date,” he repeated. “Last minute thing?”

“No, I’ve had it planned for a week. I wasn’t sure about it, but I think I need to, you know?”

“Yeah.” Silence again. “Yeah, yeah. It’s a step, right? You could’ve told me, though.”

“I wasn’t sure if I’d go through with it and telling you made it feel locked in, I guess.”

“You know I’ll support whatever you decide to do, Alana.”

I shivered a little. “I know, Jayce. Rain check?”

“Sure. Maybe we can crack it on Halloween.”

I snorted a laugh. “If Jane doesn’t physically force me to go to the trunk-or-treat at school.”

“If she does, I’ll cut off her stupid fucking pigtails. Or I’ll kidnap you,” he added with a laugh.

“Maybe you should. God knows I need the excitement in my life.”

“Rope or zip ties?”

“Hm. Rope.”

“Gag or duct tape?”

Shaking my head, I started rifling through the clothes in my closet. “Neither. Don’t you want to hear me scream?”

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