Page 71 of Denim & Diamonds

As I stood in my kitchen and pondered this over my mug of awful coffee, Oak wagged his tail by the door.

“Oh,nowyou want to go?” I groaned.

I grabbed the leash and took him out for a walk.

“You’d better go this time,” I said as it started to drizzle.

Of courseit was raining now, too.

After he freaked out over his own shadow for about five minutes, Oak finally took care of things on the side of the road. I bent to pick it up with my trusty plastic bag. “This is ashittymorning all around, isn’t it?” I told him as I tied a knot in the bag.

After we returned to the house, Oak circled around me in the kitchen, his paws scratching against the tile. Something was still bothering him.

“What? You were just out. What the hell is wrong with you?”

He looked up at me as he tried to catch his breath after the walk.

“You trying to tell me something? You’d better not be judging me for being here and not with her this morning, because I feel bad enough about the way she and I left things.”

He barked at me.

“But seriously, Oak, this is really it? All of these weeks of pent-up frustration, the best sex I’ve ever had, and now it’s justover?”

Oak growled.

“You’re lucky she and I weren’t here last night. You would’ve gotten an eyeful. Or maybe you would’ve liked watching, you old perv. I saw what you did to that stuffed cow.”

Ruff!

“How goodwasit, you ask?” I shook my head. “I don’t normally brag to humans, but I know my secret is safe with you.” I sighed. “Anyway, Oak, to answer your question, the sex was so effing good that I lost my damn mind and gave her my bracelet.That’show good. Because the chance to have another night with her means more than a family heirloom, apparently.”

I went to heat up my coffee for the thousandth time.

“It doesn’t seem right that she’s still technically here in town and I’m not spending these last minutes with her.” I stopped the microwave. “I need you to talk me out of going over to Sierra right now. Because Ireallywant to.”

Walking over to the counter, I grabbed a pen and notepad. “Let’s go over the pros and cons. I know you like this kind of analysis.”

Oak plopped down onto the floor, looking a bit bored by my dilemma.

“A big con is that seeing her would only make it harder to say goodbye and prolong the agony.” I wrotegoodbyes suckin the con column.

I pointed my pen at him. “A pro would be seeing her one more time. But another con would be that I could do or say something dumb—like suggest we try the long-distance thing, which you and I bothknowis a bad idea, right?”

Oak continued to rest his chin on the floor.

“But a big pro would be thatshecould suggest it, which would mean a long-distance relationship wouldn’t be something she viewed as a negative. Knowing she’d be open to it and wouldn’t think I was crazy might make me more likely to consider it.” I threw my pen onto the counter. “That’s two cons and two pros, if you’ve been counting. We’re at a dead heat.”

He let out a loud bark.

“What’s that you say? A huge pro would be that if I go, I’d at least not have to spend the rest of the day wondering what would’ve happened if I had?” I scratched my chin. “You make a good point. And it would be one more moment I’d get to spend with her.One more moment would be worth it, wouldn’t it?” I grabbed my keys and headed toward the door before I could change my mind.

“Damn you, Oak, and your damn…romanticness. You need to get a life of your own and stop interfering in mine. You’re turning me into a goddamn sap.” I slammed the door behind me.

I drove my truck to a convenience store on the way and grabbed a bunch of snacks for Feb to take on the road, since I knew she was renting a car to get back to the City. I didn’t have time to waste, but the snacks would give me a reason to stop by other than just being unable to let her go.

When I pulled up to Sierra, I noticed the ladder was gone. That wasn’t a big deal; it just meant I couldn’t surprise her by showing up at her window.

I called her cell phone, but there was no answer.

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