Page 117 of The Bet
He sounded testy. Things were probably still tense between him and Tobias. She tried to find something to say, something neutral. “I was wondering, because you hadn’t replied, and you usually do.”
Needy.
That sounded needy.
Didthat sound needy?
Howneedy?
“I did reply. I asked if you needed more work, butyoudidn’t reply.”
She’d missed one of his emails? “I must have missed it. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I know you’ve had lots going on.”
“You sound busy, too.” All of a sudden she wished she hadn’t called him. The conversation had hardly been as riveting as she had hoped. “I’ll…uh…I’ll let you go.”
“I’m not busy now. It’s been a lousy week.”
“Lousyweek?”
“A clusterfuck of a week.”
She laughed, finding kinship in his misery. “Same here.”
“Why, what happened with you?”
“Nothing major. Just math exam results.”
“Not the end of the world stuff, then,” he said, sounding a little lighter.
“No.”
“I was wondering how your exams went.”
He was?
“Pretty good, except for the math results.”
“You should be celebrating the small victories. Exams being over counts as one of them.”
“I suppose so.” But everything mattered. Every exam, every result. It all mattered. Not that Xavier would ever understand. His life seemed so cushy from where she was standing. What did he know?
“What are you up to now?”
“Me?” Going home and buying a tub of ice-cream along the way. Why was he asking? “Nothing much,” she replied, trying not to get excited. A shiver of goosebumps broke out along her back.
“Would you have time to show me how you did those charts? You know, those 3D bar charts?”
“Sure.”
“I can come over to your place later?” he suggested.
Later? “No,” she said quickly. “I was going home anyway. I’m heading for the subway. I could come to your place, if it’s okay with you.”
“We can commiserate together.”
“Misery plus misery.”
