Page 101 of It Couldn't Be You
I closed my eyes, finding my words. “You know, some people are always on your mind. There in the background, like trees in the breeze or footsteps on the sidewalk. So perpetually present, you can force yourself to stop paying attention to it. To get used to it.”
“Until it leaves and then comes back again.”
“Yeah.” I pulled at a loose thread in my shirt. “Exactly. I ran into Jordan, and in that moment of my life, with everything feeling so loud, so pressuring—I just let, even the idea of someone else, everything fade into the background. It didn’t go away, but it just stopped being front and center.”
“The answer isyesthen?” His maple eyes were intent on me. Both of us knowing he was the other guy on my mind.
“Yes,” I said, quiet as a soft breeze.
He didn’t say anything for a minute. I dug in my bag for nothing really. I mindlessly leafed through my wallet.
“You going to ask me?” he said after a few moments passed.
“Oh, yeah,” I said overly enthusiastically. I dropped my bag back under the seat. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Do you still write poetry?”
“Here and there.” He pushed open the window.
“When was the last time?” I glanced out at pink clouds floating by us.
“That wasn’t the question,” he said, surprisingly dodgy.
“Why don’t you want to tell me?”
“That also wasn’t the question. Truth or dare?” he turned toward me.
“Truth.”
“Have you and the guy from the barbecue been talking?” He tapped his fingers on his leg.
I burst into laughter, recalling my mom’s words from our last phone call.
“What’s so funny about this question?” he asked.
I kept laughing. “It’s not funny. It’s just… I messaged you about that guy, remember? I only gave him my email address. Nothing is going to happen with that guy.”
“Hey, I had to check. Stuff can sizzle over email sometimes. I wasn’t sure if things had changed since we texted about it.”
“Had to check, huh?” I fight a grin.
“You guys were glued together the whole party.”
“That does not mean anything.My dad is his dentist,” I said the last part as if that was some nail in the coffin.
“Your dad is my dentist.” His brows furrow.
“So?”
“Dare,” he says through a yawn.
I grabbed his phone and said, “Let’s see the last person to slide in your DMs.”
He opened up his Instagram and pulled up a message from a couple of days ago. I squinted and realized I knew the girl.
“Is that the receptionist from Paws for Effect?” My jaw dropped.
