Page 62 of Jaime
“It’s not my new studio,” I said, feeling suddenly hollow. “I didn’t sign yet or anything.”
“Do you want to?” she asked.
“Maybe,” he admitted. “It is pretty amazing. It’s a huge step up from where we are.”
“Well, you know I’m down,” she said. “I’ll move to LA in a heartbeat as long as business expenses are covered.”
I chuckled.
“You’ll come, perfect... now I need to see about Jaime.”
She feigned a dramatic gasp.
“You’ve only been dating for two weeks and now you want to ask him to move cities with you?” she asked. “Why am I not surprised?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Just that you two look at each other like there’s no one else in the room.”
“Jealous?” I asked as my heart swelled.
“Absolutely.”
I shook my head.
“Okay, let me call Jaime and see how he is.”
“Good luck,” she said in parting.
I rang Jaime’s number, fingers drumming against the untouched wrapper of the sandwich I’d bought.
When he didn’t answer, I forced myself not to worry, to take a time out and eat before trying again.
My neglected coffee was already lukewarm, but the sandwich was good. Still, I tore through it, eager to call Jaime again.
Again, he didn’t answer, so I sent a text.
Are you up to something? I tried calling.
Sorry, I didn’t hear it.
I stared at the weak lie. He had texted back straight away, so obviously, he just didn’t want to talk. Guessing the reason, I sent another message.
Today went great. How was the driving lesson?
There was a brief wait this time for a reply.
It was great. Drove around the block.
I stared for a long time, sadness filling me. For a while, I thought about playing along. He obviously was trying to save face, but I didn’t want him to be that way with me. He didn’t need to pretend to be strong. We were honest with each other. That was something I loved about being with him.
Biting my lip, I decided to come clean.
Naomi told me what happened.
This time, there was a very long wait for his reply.
I looked out the window at the large, sweeping street packed with all different kinds of people walking by.
