Page 79 of Hooked
“I don’t want to inter—”
“She made beef stroganoff.”
Jeremy hopped out of the truck. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
An hour later with his belly full and his heart a little patched up by Mrs. Nakamura’s beef stroganoff and noodles, Jeremy felt a little better. He knew his mom and dad loved living in the mountains—it was their dream—but sometimes Jeremy missed having his mom close by.
He and Cary took two bottles of beer out to the porch and sat on the rocking chairs Cary’s dad had made.
“What’s up?” Cary asked.
“They called Tayla back for another interview in San Francisco.”
“Okay.” He sipped his beer. “That wasn’t exactly a surprise, right?”
“She told me this morning after she stayed at my house all night.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I’m guessing you weren’t playing Scrabble.”
“No.”
“And she could have told you the night before, but she didn’t, and you feel like she sprang it on you this morning while you were thinking you’d dazzled her with your sexual prowess, won her heart, and everything was going to fall into place.”
“One, I never want to hear the phrase ‘dazzled with sexual prowess’ from you ever again.”
“Hey, Emmie convinced me to read romance. You should too—you might learn something.”
“And two…” Jeremy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. Kinda.”
“Dude, this isn’t a Hallmark movie.”
“Okay, I know that but—”
“No. You can’t be a dick about this. She told you everything up front. You told her you were going to… I don’t know exactly what you said or anything. We’re not girls.”
“I told her I wanted to be with her.” The memory put a sour taste in his mouth. “That I didn’t want to think about the future.”
“Okay then.” Cary gave him a decisive nod.
“Okay what?”
“You told her you were all about the moment. Own it or let her go now. Don’t be a dick.”
“You know, you used to be my teacher. I’m not sure you’re supposed to be calling me a dick.”
“I’m not calling you a dick.” Cary pointed his beer bottle at Jeremy. “If you get pissed at Tayla for taking you at your word,thenI’ll call you a dick. And it doesn’t matter that I used to be your teacher. I’m not looking for a reference.”
Jeremy swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m in love with this girl, Cary.”
Cary sighed. “I wish I could just be happy for you, J. I really do. I’m not counting you out yet though. They haven’t offered her that job, and she hasn’t said yes. You’re a good guy. She’s not gonna find better anywhere. Be her reason to stay.”
Jeremy nodded, but he couldn’t find anything to say.
Cary was right. He couldn’t be a dick about Tayla moving, even if he wished she’d had better timing about telling him about the second interview.
“You know, maybe the fact that shedidn’twant to tell you about it means she’s more invested than you think, okay?” Cary finished his beer. “I don’t want to give you false hope or anything, but I’ve seen you guys together. She’s not playing you. There’s not a lying bone in that girl’s body.”
“No, sometimes she’s painfully honest.”
