Page 68 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

“No, but I didn’t think he would. If he wants time to think, he’s not going to call me.”

“Something doesn’t seem right about this. If he really meant all that stuff he said to you last Monday, he’d want to talk to you, even if it’s just for a few minutes.”

“That’s not Asher. He’s not a big talker, and he hates talking on the phone.”

“Okay, but it’s you he’d be calling, not just anyone. He should want to talk to you.”

“What are you trying to say? That Asher doesn’t want to talk to me?”

She sighs. “I’m just going to say this, because it’s been bothering me all week.”

“Say what?”

“I don’t think Asher was being honest when he said all that stuff to you.”

“What stuff?”

“That he needs time to figure things out. I’m sorry, but if a guy really wants to be with you, he doesn’t need weeks or months to figure it out. It shouldn’t matter what’s going on at his job. He should want to be with you no matter what. He shouldn’t need time to figure out how to fit you into his life.”

She sounds like Scott. He said something similar that day I was over at his apartment, right after I’d met with Asher. Hemade it sound like Asher didn’t really love me, which made me so mad I had to leave. I got over it, but now Callie’s bringing it up and I’m getting angry again.

“You don’t know Asher like I do,” I say. “When he gets focused on something like his job, he can’t think of anything else. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me. It just means he needs time to let his mind work through everything.”

“What if it keeps happening? What if you marry him and he gets obsessed with his job again and doesn’t have time for you? Is that really what you want?”

“Let’s talk about something else. I know how you feel. We don’t need to keep talking about it.”

“Okay, but just think about what I said. I promise you, Trina, there’s a guy out there who would do anything to be with you. He wouldn’t need time to figure it out.”

“So how’s Addie?” I say, changing topics.

“Good. She did the funniest thing this morning.” Callie tells me the story, but my mind keeps thinking about what she said. And about what Scott said.

Are they right? Am I fooling myself, thinking Asher wants me in his life when he really doesn’t?

“How’s the new job going?” Callie asks, and I realize I missed her entire story about Addie.

“We still have a lot to do. We’ve been organizing the stuff that isn’t in boxes, and after that we’ll get to work on the boxes.”

“How do you like working with your neighbor?”

“Scott’s great. Going through his stuff, I’m really learning a lot about him. He’s been telling me about his inflatable furniture company and how he started it. He’s really smart and really creative. I didn’t think lawyers were creative, but some of his ideas are really cool. Stuff I’d never even think of.”

“Sounds like you’ve changed your mind about him. A week ago, you hated him.”

“He’s growing on me,” I say, but the truth is, I really like him.

This past week, as I’ve gotten to know Scott, I’ve realized he’s so much more than the guy I thought he was when we met. He’s got all these layers to him and I keep uncovering more. Like just yesterday, I found out he worked as a lifeguard during college and saved some little kid’s life. He was even in the paper for it. He also told me he pays for his parents to go on vacation every year to wherever they want.

What I really like is that he doesn’t brag about any of this, like Asher would. Scott wouldn’t have even told me that stuff if I hadn’t asked. And I only asked because I found the article from the paper about him saving the kid and saw a card from his parents, thanking him for last year’s trip.

“I hear Addie,” Callie says. “She just woke up.”

“I’ll let you go.”

“Okay, bye!”

Getting up from the mattress, I decide to call Asher and thank him for the gift. He’ll be at work, but I won’t talk long.

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