Page 73 of The Overdue Kiss

Seriously, how did I go from anti-relationships to counting down the minutes until my date arrives? The answer is Des. Being around him fills me with a sense of contentment and peace. The deep connection between us is everything I didn’t know I was longing for and the salve that would heal the last of my broken heart... just so I could lose it to him.

Love?My fingers clench the Tupperware.Me?

Is that why there’s unexplainable tingles every time I think of him? Or when I have something exciting to share, he’s the first person I want to call? Or why he makes my heart skip when he smiles, and I feel safer in his arms?

Oh, wow.

I am, aren’t I?

How did I not see this sooner? Perhaps I’d just been fighting it for so long that I was blind to all the signs.

“I love Desmond,” I admit aloud, and the truth of my words fills me with a sense of peace.

Grinning until my cheeks hurt, I call his cell, desperate to hear his voice and confess my true feelings before they burst from my chest. His voicemail picks up and I hang up, deciding it’s best to share something this monumental in person.

Sigh.As soon as he gets here.

I blink at my call log, surprised I’ve somehow missed three calls from an unknown number. Telemarketers must be desperate to steal my information if they were calling me in the middle of the night. With a swipe of my thumb, I block the number.

“Not today, scamsters.”

Because today is a day of new beginnings.

Resting my chin in my palm, I wonder about our future as I idly watch the cars pass by. Living two cities apart would be a minor inconvenience at first, but we could make sacrifices and commute as much as possible until we decide which town would work best for the both of us.

Another wave of giddiness hits me at the term “us.”

The wait for Des is torturous. After twenty minutes, my impatience morphs into concern.What is taking him so long?I call his phone and frown when it goes to voicemail again.

“Hey, Des. It’s me. I wanted to make sure I had the time and day right for our date. Give me a call back, okay?”

I hang up, frowning at my reflection in the glare. I tap my fingers on my knees, straining to hear the roar of the motorcycle approach. Five minutes late turns to thirty and then an hour.

Did I give up on my resolution too soon?

No. This is Des. He’s kind, patient, and honest. He wouldn’t stand me up without a reason, right? I call him again, hanging up when it goes to voicemail. In a desperate panic, I call Reese, but her phone doesn’t even ring, the voicemail immediately kicking in.

After another hour, my stomach churns, mainly acid at this point. I don’t want to give up, keeping my eyes trained to the road.

Des wouldn’t do this to me. He told me to trust him. That he was different.

Then why do I feel betrayed like I had with Felipe?

If something had happened, why didn’t he call? Text?Anything?!

I call his phone again, and when I hear his voicemail recording for the umpteenth time, I cover my eyes with my hands and allow the salty tears to roll down my cheeks.

How do I keep falling for these types of men? Ones who so casually toss me aside when they are done with me. At least have the decency to tell me to my face.

I don’t know who I’m more upset at, Des for leading me on or myself for falling in love with him. At least this time I won’t hear him on the radio mocking me while I eat a pint of ice cream.

I don’t know how long I sit on the porch, my head resting on the railing as I contemplate my life choices before I hear the creak of the door behind me.

“Hey,” Julia says. “You’re still here?”

“Yeah. He never came.”

She sits on the step next to me and throws an arm over my shoulder, letting me rest on her instead.

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