Page 129 of The Disasters of Dating
Call it a sixth sense. Or that I know you that well?
I didn’t want to mention it because it was about another guy.
Lincoln
Black-eye guy? You know, I always like to hear bad things about him.
My lips turn up slightly. But I can’t laugh because I’m trying too hard not to cry.
A knock sounds at the front door. My mom can get it. Maybe it will pull her and Adam apart for a few minutes.
I hear talking at the door, and then it closes. Could it be Keaton? I push the hope down.
My phone buzzes, reminding me I’m supposed to be chatting with Lincoln.
Lincoln
Well, don’t leave me in suspense. What did BEG do?
Lincoln
Hey, I like that acronym…
He promised he’d come tonight and then bailed on me.
Lincoln
…
What could he be typing that he’s either thinking hard about each word or erasing and retyping over and over?
There’s a knock at my door, and my mom pokes her head in. “This was delivered for you. It was the nicest-dressed delivery guy I’ve ever seen. And he was driving a BMW.” Her brows are raised high on her forehead as she hands a large rectangular package wrapped in brown paper through the door.
“What is it?” I ask, standing up to retrieve it.
She lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know, but I think it’s from Keaton.”
“Why would you say that?”
She pushes my door open wider and shows me a small wooden crate, a little bigger than a loaf of bread. “Because this came for me with a card that said, “My apologies for missing dinner tonight. I hope you’ll forgive me. Keaton Barrington.”
“What’s in it?” I ask, my lips lift in the slightest.
“It looks like syrup from New Hampshire and a crock of apple butter.”
I lift my brows. “I’ll hand it to him, he apologizes in style.”
“It seems genuine, Soda,” she says.
“Because you can tell that from handwriting?” I shake my head and roll my eyes.
My mom motions to the package she brought to me. “Are you going to open that?”
My shoulders bounce up. “Maybe I’ll return it to sender.”
“Pops, he had to work. What do you want him to do? Get fired so he can prove himself to you?”
“No,” I growl. But deep down, I think maybe that would be a step in the right direction. I mean, if he’ll blow off something he knew was this important to me when we’re newly dating, what will he do when we’re serious?
