Page 36 of Austin
“Best I could do.” The doors slid open, revealing a small crowd waiting on the ground floor.
“This elevator isn’t working right,” he told the people waiting to get on. They ignored his warning and piled on board. But he had to admit to thinking more about Kristen than possessed elevators. He waited until they’d gotten their coffee and were seated at a small table near the edge of the lobby before saying, “Tell me about this crush.”
“To stroke your ego?”
“My ego is big enough, thank you. Why didn’t I know? I mean…I tried to talk to you.”
Kristen lifted her cup to her lips. “Scared. To. Death.”
“Of what? I sent out signals. I thought I did anyway.”
“Misreading. Rejection…and…” she glanced down “…the fact that you were going nowhere.”
His eyebrows rose and she gave a self-conscious shrug. “I had plans. You didn’t. At that time, I thought that every relationship had to be serious. That futures had to mesh. Things like that.”
“What do you think about relationships now?”
“I guess I understand that there are different kinds. Futures don’t have to mesh.”
“That pretty well describes us—non-meshing futures.”
“Yeah.”
“Which leaves the question of what kind of relationship do you want to have with me?” It was a question worth asking right off the bat, so there were no misconceptions.
She held his gaze as she said, “The fun kind that leaves no scars.”
“Have you ever had one of those?” She shook her head. “Neither have I. The thing is, Kris, you go past a certain point and every relationship stings a little.”
“So you’re saying…”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed you in that elevator.”
