Page 3 of Unconventionally, Elle
"Anna, seriously. I'm fine. I need to get back to my desk. I have a ton of things to get done today. I promise, I'm good." My heart was thundering in my chest, and each lie felt like a knot of anxiety twisting in my stomach.
She lifted an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. "You promise?"
"I promise." I squeezed her hands and gave her a gentle smile.
She walked with me back to my desk, then left with one last concerned glance.
I plopped onto my chair and pulled out my phone. I had a blaring fifty-eight missed text messages. I groaned and rubbed my temples; the throbbing was worse. I clicked on the icon to start reading what I had missed. There was no way I could let all those texts stay unread. Impossible.
I noticed most were from the girls, two from Paul, and a few spam messages. The most recent message was from Jude Ashford. My heart stopped mid-beat.
It had been years since I'd talked to Jude. My stomach knotted and my chest constricted. Was something wrong? Why was he texting me now? I clicked open his message.
Hey, Elle, totally random, sorry. I was thinking about you today. Mom came to live with me in NY, and she asked me how you were doing. She forgets more now, and I don't have the heart to tell her again and again that we don't talk much. Hope you don't mind. Just wanted to say hi and hope all is well.
My mind went blank. Just thinking about me? Seriously? Five years later and he's just thinking about me? I tried not to overanalyze my reply. I didn't want to be mean, but literally, what the fuck was I supposed to say?
Hey, Jude. Good to hear from you. Tell your mom I said hi and I'm all right. I hope you are doing well in New York.
I hit send and waited for his response. I still had butterflies even though I knew this was nothing, we were nothing. He was the past, and I couldn't go back. I reread my text at least five times, waiting for the little dots to appear. It was fine, it was professional and not too emotional. It was fine. I was fine.
My breath went shallow when three dots popped up on my screen.
I knew you'd understand. Thank you. :)
And that was it. He didn't even use a genuine emoji. My mind was a whirlwind of confusion while my heart was in desperate need of CPR. I took a deep breath and finally opened Paul's message.
Paul:Elle, I talked to Mr. Guidry. Looking good! I told you.
Me:Awesome! Thanks, Paul. I heard you and Chris have plans tonight.
I could feel the anger start to flow through my veins. Why hadn't he told me when he saw me literally within the past hour? I kept glancing at my phone to see if he responded, and each minute that went by, I seriously questioned our friendship. Texting bubbles popped up five minutes later.
Um, yeah. He asked me before the meeting today. I know you don't like him, so I figured I'd see him alone and spare you a night of hell. I didn't know how to tell you...
I had a bad feeling. I couldn't explain it, but ever since Chris walked away, something had felt off.
No problem, we'll chat soon.
I had nothing else to say. This day had gone to hell in a handbasket, and it wasn't even noon yet. Okay, on to the one million missed messages from the girls.
Me:Meeting's over, sorry that took so long. Okay, Rach, spill.
Rach:Welcome back! We've been talking about Chris Pratt vs. Henry Cavill while you've been away. Even though we all know that HC is superior.
Sarah:Shut up, Rach. We've discussed this at length. We called a truce!
Rach:Yes, yes, well, I was only catching Elle up. OK, y'all ready for this idea?! I was watching one of those reality shows set at the beach, and this season was set in Puerto Vallarta. It looked amazing! So, of course I've already done some research, and I think it would be the perfect all-inclusive girls' trip!
Sarah:Like Mexico?
Me:Wow, Rach. I thought you hated the beach? In fact, I remember you specifically saying, "I hate the beach," when we all went to Gulf Shores for spring break freshman year.
To be fair, I'm not a beach girl either. I much prefer the mountains or a trip to Europe, but when Rach got an idea, she ran with it.
Rach:Well, don't everyone clap at once.
Rach:And yes, I do usually hate the beach, however, I saw a resort ad for a week-long all-inclusive vacation there, and it legit looked too good to pass up. Plus, it's super cheap split three ways. So, Sarah, tell James this is mandatory self-care, and let's go! It's $500 each for the whole week.
