Page 101 of No Place Like You

I shake my head. “This is still really new to both of us. And I don’t want to scare her.”

“But you want to move in with her?”

“No,” I argue, sounding a little annoyed and defensive. “I would get my own pl—I’m not thinking that far, Janet. It was just a question that popped in my mind when I was talking to my boss. That’s all.”

She stays quiet, my near outburst enough to shut down any further discussion of what my situation with Lucy may be.

“Besides,” I continue, my voice calmer. “I’m not going anywhere while you’re still in treatment.”

And now it’s her turn to get upset. “Dexter, stop that shit.”

“What?”

“You can’t letmyhealth dictateyourlife.”

“I’m not. But I’m not moving across the country when you’re still actively fighting this.”

“Dex—”

“No, Janet,” I cut her off. “And besides, Lucy wouldn’t let me. She’d want me to be here with you.”

Janet smiles and reaches for my arm.

“I promise, I was just asking to have some peace of mind. That’s all.”

“Okay.”

46

Lucy

“Look! It’s gold.”I wave my hands in front of my new MacBook, Vanna White style, and Dexter smiles through the phone screen.

“Looks nice,” he comments. “It’s one hell of an upgrade.”

I nod enthusiastically. “I’ve already uploaded my pictures in it.”

“Have they reached out to you again?” he asks, silently referring to Elevate Media.

I shake my head. “Not yet, but Ryan said it would take some time before someone contacts me. They probably have to draw up an actual offer letter and everything.”

“Well, hopefully they don’t keep you waiting too long. It feels like they’re doing an awful lot of pussyfooting while you’re just waiting for them to call you.”

“I know,” I say glumly. It’s been a bit frustrating, waiting for Elevate to get back to me, and I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t bothered me one bit. I’m eager to get things going. And a part of me feels like they might change theirmind. What if they have some time to think things over only to realize I’m not the one they want to offer this job to?

“How was your first day back at Mr. Bean’s?” he asks, changing the subject and pulling my thoughts away from those lingering doubts that never seem to disappear. While waiting on Elevate to get back to me, I put a hold on any future job searches. And since I still need to pay the bills, I reached out to Mr. Bean to see if I could temporarily have my old job back. He gladly agreed. Apparently, the last guy he hired to take my place broke the espresso machine on his first day and burned his hand on the steam wand. He quit after a week, leaving Mr. Bean short-staffed. I’ve been telling myself I didn’t circle back to square one, I’m just waiting on Elevate, but with each passing day, it’s been a little difficult to stay optimistic.

“It was fine,” I answer. “A little busy, but nothing new. Just the same old coffee shop I worked at three months ago.”

I nod, and he does too. And we look at each other, the silence lingering between us, reminding us for the hundredth time that he’s there and I’m here. It’s been like this between us. Drawn out FaceTime calls, meals eaten together through a screen, quick text messages throughout the day because we miss each other and the only way to communicate with the distance and time difference is through missed messages with hours between chats.

Our silence is interrupted when Jeremy saunters into the room, his demanding meows equally obnoxious and cute. He hops up on my bed where I’m sitting, and his snout enters the screen, where Dexter greets him.

“Hi, Jeremy.”

Jeremy paws at the screen at the sound of his name before nuzzling his head into my hand.

“He’s been a little clingier since I got back,” I inform Dexter, leaning down to kiss Jeremy’s nose. “But I’m not complaining.”

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