Page 53 of Last First Love
At least I'm certainly hoping that happens.
I debate about whether to bring her another picnic or maybe a giant boombox playing Peter Gabriel, but eventually just give up and go with me, myself, and I knocking at her front door like the sad, lovesick man I am.
I knock until my hand starts to hurt, and then I switch to the other hand. Because I'm nothing if not persistent, and I can wait out here all damn day making noise until she gives up and lets me in to talk to her.
Or calls someone to have me murdered. Either way, it'll put me out of my misery so there's that.
But eventually my other hand gets tired too, and I slide down against the door and sit with my back pressed up against it. Am I miscalculating this move too? Last time I bungled things with Lily, she blocked my number and left the state to get away from me. I keep trying to run through the worst possible scenarios in my mind, but I'm coming up blank.
This feels like the worst possible scenario has already happened. The one where I asked her to be my girlfriend and she couldn't far enough away from me fast enough to suit her.
The sun slowly slides down and I start to get chilly leaning up against her door. Was I given bad information? No. In a town this size, everybody knows everyone else's comings and goings. I've had no less than three texts about Lily's return to Valentine. She's definitely here somewhere.
It occurs to me that maybe I'm acting like a weirdo on her porch because I don't even have a guess where she might be. At Elliott's? Well, he would definitely beat my face in this time. At Riddles? I can only assume I'm still banned from my favorite bar. What choices does this leave me with?
I finally slide my phone out of my pocket and stare at it. Looks like I'm going to have to phone a friend for help, but what friends I have are in short supply and pretty much tapped out of favors right now. Well, except for Abernathy. As far as I'm concerned, he probably owes me for the rest of my entire life because of all the heavy lifting I did to get him and Darcy together.
And okay, he's probably mad because Darcy might hate me a little bit right now and they can't hardly do anything solo these days, but he hasn't fired me from being his best man yet. That tells me that he thinks I've got what it takes to fix things with Lily before the wedding. And I obviously believe that too, otherwise why would I be slumped against her front door right now waiting for her to appear and listen to me beg her for forgiveness?
I text him.Where's Lily?
I stare at my phone and try to force him to answer by using the powers of my mind. But my prayers to the phone gods go unanswered and I have to think about what's next. For example, how long can I loiter here on Lily's front porch before someone calls me out on my lurking?
Wait, what if she's inside and she's the one who calls for back up all because she doesn't want to see me? Well that would be a new all time low for me.
Even as the thought finally crosses my mind, a police car rolls up and parks. The door opens and Aaron slides out.
"Yeah, I figured it was you." He climbs the steps to where I'm still sitting and holds out his hand to me. "Come on, hero. It's time to get up and do something else with your time."
I heave out a sigh but go ahead and stand up. I've been here long enough that I feel stiff when I rise, aching all over from sitting in one place too long.
"Wave to Mrs. Stefnagel." Aaron's eyes slide across the street to where a set of white curtains flicks back into place. Well, at least it wasn't Lily calling the cops on me.
I wave to the set of curtains across the street and head down the steps. "I really need to talk to Lily."
His face tightens up. "I don't disagree, but everything you've been doing recently isn't working. You're going to have to try something else."
I lean up against his cruiser. "I beg to differ. At least one thing I've been doing is working exceptionally well. Ever since I've been hitting the gym for three hours a day, I look even better than I did way back before I ruined my life."
Aaron snorts. "Quit being such a whiner baby. You didn't ruin your life. You messed up with a girl."
"Yeah, so much so that Lily left the state and won't talk to me."
Aaron stills, and I look over at his face and feel my stomach sinking at what I see there. "You haven't heard the news yet."
Well, shit. "No. No, I definitely haven't." I take a deep breath. "How bad is it?"
He looks away from me and scratches at his scalp. "Honestly? Pretty damn bad."
The air is heavy between us. I can feel the weight of what's coming next, even as I keep staring at Aaron, willing him to quit freaking me out and spill it already.
"She's leaving. She's back until the wedding, and then she's taken a job in New York City."
I stare out at the sky where the sun keeps shining and clouds spill by, as if this giant bomb has not just gone off in my life. As if it's okay that the world keeps moving when all I want to do is go home and hide.
"Well, good for her. I know that fashion photography was her dream, and now it's coming true for her." My voice almost sounds normal, despite the sharp metallic taste in my mouth.
It's over.
