Page 82 of Head First
‘I’m sorry about asking you to sign the dive log,’ I say.
‘I’m sorry I made you have to dothat,’ he says at the same time, gesturing at the stage.
‘It’s OK,’ I reply.
‘My personal feelings got in the way,’ he adds, talking over me again.
We both start to laugh.
‘Personal feelings, huh?’
‘I wasn’t planning to come,’ he says. ‘It’s not like I had anything to present on anymore.’ He chuckles awkwardly. ‘And I didn’t think you’d want to see me after how we said goodbye.’
‘But I sent you a letter.’
‘What letter?’
‘The letter,’ I repeat, feeling impossibly stupid and incredibly frustrated. ‘It explained everything. Why I lied, what was happening with Millie . . . You never got my letter?’
Hugh shakes his head. ‘No . . . but when my boss insisted I come with her to help with her presentation I figured it wouldn’t be right to miss yours.’
I grin. ‘I have to admit – I heard you emailed Derek, and I was hoping it had something to do with the conference.’
‘Ah, yes, Derek.’
We both laugh.
‘The truth is . . .’ Hugh breaks off midsentence. He leans closer to me, his eyes lingering over my face, my lips. I feel like we are the only two people in the world. I grab his hand with mine, intertwining our fingers. For the first time in four months, it finally feels like I can breathe again.
‘Yes?’
‘Andi, I never stopped thinking about you. I missed you. I was hoping that I could find something of Derek’s to help, to make up for how we said goodbye. That maybe I could reach out to you again . . .’
‘Hugh,’ I breathe. ‘If anything, it’s me that should be thanking you. After all, you did help me go from talking about cereal tothis.’ Although when I wave my hands around the cleared-out auditorium it doesn’t feel much more impressive than my cubicle.
Hugh laughs. ‘Hopefully, you’re getting to do more than attend conferences. So what do we do now?’
‘Well . . .’ I pause, glancing at my schedule. The rest of my day is full of presentations that I wanted to attend but don’t need to, and suddenly I’m not feeling inclined to stay inside.
‘We can attend the talk on ITLOS regulations, or we can go grab food at a cute spot near the park?’
Hugh’s eyes sparkle and I can tell he’s trying not to laugh. ‘ITLOS. Definitely.’
I swat at his arm.
‘Food sounds perfect.’
‘That was easy,’ I say, picking up my bag and swinging it over my shoulder. ‘Remind me why Millie says you’re terrible to work with?’ I’m whisper-laughing now. Hugh is drawing me closer, our torsos touching, his other hand wrapped around my low back.
‘How is Millie?’ he asks.
‘She’s good. She sends her regards.’
He laughs. ‘I take it she saw my interruption.’
Our faces are drawing closer together. I feel like I can’t breathe.
‘She did.’
