Page 32 of Love's a Glitch
Me:Knowledge is stored in the brain.
Ellie:Shows what you know. ?? ??
Ellie:If there’s a thick—and I mean THICK—piece of plywood or plastic between me and the ocean life, I can probably convince myself to be brave. Final offer.
Ellie:Stop the presses. I actually need to add an addendum to that offer. What’s between first and final?
Was this a trick question?A setup for a joke? Or, most likely, this was where those attached strings I’d been stressing over came into play.
Me:Short answer? Infinite possibilities.
Ellie:Then I’d like to add an “Infinite Possibilities Addendum” that states you’ll
come with me to this class I signed up for on Wednesday night in the name of becoming a diverse, interesting person. It’ll be an adventure unlike any you’ve ever experienced, I assure you.
Ellie:Also, no pressure, but it requires a partner, and the money is non-refundable, and I totally get that this qualifies as adding pressure. Please say you don’t already have plans Wednesday and you can come with me.??With TWO cherries on top.??
How could I say no?I mean, she used two cherries, and that required an extra tap of her keyboard. Especially since the idea of exploring my favorite spots along La Jolla Cove with my girl by my side caused the type of excitement I hadn’t felt since the last time I’d been around Ellie in person.
Well, notmygirl. Whatever, the point was the same.
Me:I raise you kayaking in the bay. It fulfills your requirement of having a barrier between you and the ocean, and there’s this creepy-cool cave you can’t get to any other way.
Ellie:You had me till the creepy.
Me:Haven’t I earned your trust yet?
I’d thrownit out more as a joke, but with it out in the ether, it weighed more. My phone buzzed in my hand, causing my spine to jolt. Evidently, my apprehension over Ellie’s answer had erased the knowledge that the object in my hand could ring.
The grumble died in my throat when I saw it was Ellie, not some business contact that’d interrupt and delay getting her answer.
“Who else would I trust to guide my adventure than the wizard who successfully led hobbits into Mordor?” Ellie said without preamble, and I sighed for what felt like the first time in days, her voice immediately calming my inner turmoil. “Although, to be fair, Gandalf did bail before they reached the fiery lava pit, and if you do that to me, I’d have to hunt you down and turn you into shark bait ooh-hah-hah.”
“Noted. Also, what’s with the ooh-hah-hah?”
“Aw, you don’t get it? You’ll have to ask George.”
“Actually, he’s going by George Lucas right now. Not to brag, but he got his middle name from his super adorable uncle.”
“Seriously? George Lucas? That’s so awesome. I’m legit a little jealous.”
I laughed. “Just don’t mention anything aboutStar Warsto his parents, or they’lllegitflip out.” Immediately, I winced at my attempt to use the shortened version of that word, regardless of it only being to tease Ellie. “Movies were a ‘waste of time’ growing up, so I wasn’t introduced until college, and while Laurel had heard of the franchise, she had no idea who wrote the original movies.”
“And Google was broken the entire nine months she was pregnant?” Ellie asked, her incredulity coming through loud and clear. “Oops. That sounded judgmental and harsh, and I’m not doing that anymore. My apologies to your sister-in-law.”
“None needed.” This was the perfect opening, and I was becoming the perfect sadist for not letting the subject drop. “So, you said your date was good?”
“Yep.”
“Before he made it weird with a poem?”
“Milo’s gotten better at finding words that rhyme. The timing is… Anyway, yeah. We had a nice time. He’s going to be out of town on a business trip this upcoming weekend but asked me to save a day for the next one so we can go out again. Which is also nice, as I told him I’d prefer to take things slow.”
At least there’s that.
Rustling came over the line, and Ellie’s words came out rushed. “Hey, my boss is about to return from her lunch break, and she gets super cranky about personal calls.”
I craved more information about her date, as it felt like she was still holding back, but didn’t push, as I’d rather forget any other guy existed in Ellie’s world except for me. “I just realized I don’t even know what you do. Sorry, I should’ve asked before.”
