“I am not in this for your entertainment,” I replied.
“And yet, here I am, very entertained. I’m guessing, with a few more kisses, you’ll be putty in his hands. Can’t wait to meet Marshmallow Meredith.”
My friends stood, sharing knowing looks, and it made my skin feel too tight. “Guys. I’m kind of freaking out about this.”
“Why?” Aryn asked as she picked her bowl back up. “He seems perfect for you.”
When they innocently returned to the kitchen to continue prepping their food in silence, I caved with a huff.
“Fine. The issue is that I like him a lot, okay, but I’m sure I’ll scare him away because all the others were terrified of being with me, and I don’t want to scare this one away because he makes my toes curl so hard.”
I was practically out of breath by the time I finished admitting everything. They came back to where I was sitting, and I didn’t miss the self-satisfied expressions they were wearing.
“I love it when the truth finally bursts out of you,” Hailey smiled and patted my knee. “It’s okay to hope things develop further, but I understand why you’re feeling unsettled about it based on your history.”
I frowned. “Do you think he already regrets it? I haven’t heard from him in two days.”
“Maybe the feeling of total confusion is mutual,” Aryn offered with a shrug.
“Or maybe he’s waiting to see if you’ll reach out to him,” Ruby added. “Guys have feelings, too, and it’s not fair to assume they should do all the chasing. They’re as vulnerable as we are when it comes to worrying over how the other person is feeling and what they’re thinking.”
I thought on that. What if I didn’t like the idea of him having the same crisis of thought I was having? I wanted him to want me, no holds barred. Doesn’t every woman deserve that? Okay, and Ruby was totally right to say that every guy deserved it, too. It was fairly hypocritical of me to assume he wouldn’t care if I was indecisive about my feelings. Ugh, all this thinking was making it worse.
“So, what do you think you should do?” Hailey asked me.
I thought back to Ash’s response to that same question from me about scuba diving and parroted her words to my friends with a grin on my face. “I’m going to overthink it, avoid discussing it, and then freak out when I’m pushed on making a choice.”
Hailey slapped at my knee and rose with a laugh. “Then you deserve whatever’s coming to you.”
The doorbell rang two nights later, and I looked over the top of Betty, who was lying flat on my chest, toward the front door. It was seven o’clock at night. I was in my flannel pajama set with the TV remote in my hand, very happily watching reruns of my favorite sitcom from my college days. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, and I was saving up energy for that, so I had specifically avoided any plans this evening. My hair was held back on the sides with two bobby pins that were slipping out, and I’d not bothered to put on an ounce of makeup.
The doorbell rang again. I sat up, gently helping Betty onto the couch cushion next to me and rubbed at the cat hair that had collected where she’d been resting. This was not a great look for me, but this surprise visitor seemed pretty committed. I opened the door in time to see Brooks lift his hand to knock. He almost knocked on my forehead but luckily snatched his hand back in time.
“Oh, hey,” he said with a big grin. “Glad you’re home.”
He was wearing a button-down shirt in forest green, that amazing pine tree tattoo peeking out over the undone top button. His hair looked fresh from the shower, and the jeans he was wearing were worn and comfortable looking. His ever-present work boots had left prints in the snow dusting the walkway up to my door.
I wasn’t sure how to react to him being there and grinning at me. Mostly because it had been several days since we’d gone to my Dad’s house, and I was feeling shy about everything. Was it normal to share information and connect like that and then have no communication?
“I brought stuff to make ice cream sundaes,” he said, holding up a shopping bag.
I sighed and leaned against the door jam, deciding to go with honesty. “After four days of silence?”
“After four days of the flu. Well, okay, three days of the flu and then a day to make sure I was over it. I’m not looking to puke up ice cream in front of you. We aren’t there yet.”
“You were sick?” I stepped aside and let him in, closing the door behind us. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Phones work both ways,” he called over his shoulder as he entered my kitchen.
Okay, that stung. I wanted to apologize, but when I stepped up next to him, he was grinning at me with his usual teasing look. He didn’t seem upset, so I dropped it.
“How do you even know I like ice cream?”
He shot me a glance. “That’s going to be a friendship ruiner if you don’t.”
“I like ice cream. A lot.”
“Good. Because after the way you’ve been kissing me, I was pretty confident that friendship was on the table.”