Page 52 of You Were Invited
“Likes... or like-likes?”
“What?” Annie laughed. “Are you like twelve?”
“I’ve told you all my like-likes without you even asking.”
“I’m just helping him.”
Her friend paused.“No. You’re not.”
Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes. She could easily imagine Molly grinning from ear to ear.
“You think you’re really starting to like him, too?”
Yes. Oh, yes, very much... but...Annie nibbled on her thumbnail. She didn’t want to get Molly’s hopes up. “Okay, yes, but I don’t know. I have so much to worry about.”
"Everybody has their own thing to worry about.”
“I don’t know.”
“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
“So corny.”
“Whatever. You know it’s true.”
Maybe. But that didn’t ease Annie’s fears. “Two hours is a long drive from Fort Walton. I’m going to miss him when I come home,” she admitted despite herself.
"Him?”
“Him... what?”
“Will he miss you?”
“Probably, yeah. There’s no doubt he likes me.”
Molly let out a squeal of happiness that unsettled Annie’s confused heart. Even the thought ofhopingthings would work out saddened her. If mishandled, hope could be soul-crushing.
“Then just keep it honest,”Molly said.“And it’s his loss if he can’t be patient. Then you’ll know he’s just looking for sex and nothing more. And as for you, if you want him bad enough, do you think you’ll let timing keep you apart?”
“It’s not just timing, it’s also distance. He lives here.”
“Neither are permanent."
This gave Annie more to grasp onto than cliché alone. Julian seemed like a patient man… Her nerves softened slightly before they tensed once more. Leading him on and hurting him would just about kill her. Already her poor heart was feverishly stitching their relationship to her soul, though, which terrified her.
I’ve known him for not even two weeks. What’s wrong with me? I’ve never fallen this hard or this fast before. Do I really even know him?
“Thank you.” Feeling drained while her brain buzzed, Annie told her friend that she’d be home within a week.
Molly sighed heavily through the phone.“I’m glad you’re having fun, but I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
When Peter came home from grocery shopping a few minutes later, Molly got off the phone. Annie went to her laptop in the dining room and tried to focus on work again, but couldn’t stop thinking about Julian and what they were going to do about their feelings for each other. She sighed and checked her email. She found a message from the At the Root Level admin account.
To: Annie Turner
From: Leonard Princely
