Page 111 of The Thorne at My Side
My mind drifts to that old team. I think most of them are still working together, at the White House. Part of me is jealous.
Part of me is glad I am not strung out working eighteen hours a day.
I refocus on the show and then all the air leaves my body.
I've found a person who challenges me and makes me think deeper about issues. She pushes me. She's the person I want to talk to about things.
Could he mean me?
I hit the pause button and process what I just heard. Austin coming to my defense. Austin admitting the AIM speeches worked, but they may have worked too well. They didn't ask or require people to think.
Which was the hill I died on.
That andprosperity and.
This whole podcast has been in defense ofme. It sounds likehe's speaking directly to me. I hit play again after I manage a deep inhale and exhale.
But we come from different places. We have different opinions. We hardly ever agree.
He laughs in a quiet way and I picture his handsome face and the way his smile probably leans to one side.
And even though she frustrates me to no end, I'm so glad she's in my life.
I have to hit pause again because tears are streaming down my cheeks. I use the backs of my hands to mop them up. With a juicy sniffle I hit play again.
Who is this lucky lady?
Again, I'm not at liberty to say.
Well you know we always talk dating on For The Record, so does this mean, you, Austin Thorne, are off the market?
I hope so.
I hit pause again and the tears turn into wails.
I want Austin Thorne. He’s the man I can spend my life with. We will disagree about almost everything but it’ll be exciting, fun, challenging. It’ll be a partnership.
My stomach falls out when I hear my SMS Connect phone ping. With shaking hands I pick it up and read the message.
DCFox:I understand if the answer is no, but, could we set up another time to meet?
With tears still in my eyes and my mind reeling, I drop the phone like it burned me. I don't have to respond. I don't have to agree to a meeting. Part of me wants to because I'm dying to know who he is. Part of me thinks I should just let it go and see if Austin is actually interested in me or if he was talking aboutsomeone else.
I listen to the rest of the podcast but all he talks about is what he wants to do next.
When the podcast finishes I text Liz.
MAGGIE:Whoever the lucky girl is, she's got a good thing going.
LIZ:You don't think it's you?
MAGGIE:We're just friends. He says it like every other sentence when we hang out.
My phone vibrates but it isn't a message from Liz. I go back to my inbox and see it's from Austin.
My palms start to sweat as I open the message.
AUSTIN:Hey Friend! Wanna meet me for a run tomorrow morning? I'd offer our old morning routine but that would be a different kind of friendship, friends with benefits, and we're not that.
