Page 81 of Friendshipped
“Well, it’s not completely obvious, but I’ve always thought you two had a thing for one another, and why you never acted on it was one of the world’s great mysteries. You know. Like whatever happened to Elvis?”
Sometimes the tracks this woman’s mind run down don’t make sense to me. What does Elvis have to do with how I feel about Lexi?
“Well, I don’t know whether we both want more than friendship. Lexi has never given me any reason to think she feels this way too. There was this almost-kiss in high school. Long story—which you won’t be hearing from me. And that went horribly.
“Then in college I asked her out, but she was dating another guy. She’s been trying to find a love connection on that app. And she went on the double date with you. She had clues telling her I wanted more, and she didn’t reciprocate.
“We spend more time together than most actual couples and she’s never given me a sign. Still. I’m sick of waiting and hoping. I need to do something. I can’t live in this limbo.”
“The word limbo reminds me of bimbo,” Laura says. “And bimbo reminds me of Meg. Aren’t you starting to see her, or something?”
“No. Not at all. We went to a welcome home dinner as friends. I included her in our group for the Fourth. She’s been coming around and seems to show up randomly since she’s been back, but I have been clear we’re just friends.”
“I don’t know if that’s what Lexi thinks is going on. But, anyway, I’ve got an idea.”
“You can’t flat out tell her I have feelings for her. You know that, right?”
I’m suddenly panicking. What if Laura blurts this to Lexi and I’m left out to dry?
“Give me some credit, Trevor. I won’t blurt it to her. You have my word. I think Lexi feels the same thing for you, but you’ve both been too afraid of losing one another to do anything about it. We’ll ease her into it. This is going to be fun!”
My head swims with all Laura’s saying. Does Lexi really possibly have feelings for me? Could I have been reading her wrong all these years? And what if Laura’s mistaken and being overly wishful? But what if she’s right?
“So,” Laura says. “We’re going to make you a profile on the app.”
“What? Why?”
“Because. You can’t spring this on her. She’ll freak and possibly retreat. Even if she does feel all the feels for you. She needs to warm up to this. You don’t want to scare her off. If she meets you like you are some random guy, it’s less intimidating. You’ll catch her off guard. If she ends up liking you on the app, it will be like she’s opening slowly. Like a flower.”
“Like a flower,” I repeat, numbly.
I can still feel my face, but I think I may be about to pass out from the reality of what I’m going to do.
“Are you still with me, Trevor?”
I clear my throat and squeeze my eyes shut. “Yes. Yes. I am. I’m in. Let’s do this.”
“Okay. Let’s make it simple. You’ll be TJ.”
“TJ?”
“Trevor James. Your first and middle initials. Let’s get together this week and make you a profile. When are you free?”
“Wait. I didn’t think Lexi was on the app anymore. How will this work?”
“She’s still on there. She made her account dormant. Leave it up to me. I’ll talk her into reactivating it, and I’ll help her pick you as someone she chats with. Trust me. In a few weeks you’ll be taking Lexi on a date. Just name a child after me, mkay?”
“Sure. What? Laura …”
“Kidding! Sort of. I have a really good feeling about this. Gotta run. Mrs. Shaller is here for her color. How does tomorrow after work sound? You can come by the shop and we’ll do this.”
“That works. Thanks, Laura.”
“No problem. I’ve got you.”
We hang up and I stand in the hallway half numb and half filled with adrenaline. I can’t believe I enlisted Laura to help me win Lexi’s heart. But now it’s done. I just have to ride this out and see what happens.
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