Page 19 of Christmas in Comets Valley
Nodding again, I brought the mug to my lips and blew off a bit of steam before taking a long sip which I instantly regretted. “God, this is awful.” A disgusted shudder passed through me.
“Yeah… I might’ve burned it.”
No job. No girlfriend. No house.Andhe couldn’t make a cup of coffee. Poor guy, at least he knew his way around the bedroom.
“And you’re heading back to…”
“Los Angeles,” I finished for him, setting my mug down on the table. There was no way in hell I was going to take another sip of that sewer water tasting coffee.
“Right.”
“Yeah, I should probably get going if I want to make it back before dark.”
“Well, on the off chance you decide to stay, a group of my buddies and I are going to Sal’s Pub tonight. Call me if you want to meet up and have a drink or something.” Elliot grabbed a pen from one of the drawers and scratched his phone number down onto one of the takeout napkins that was stacked on the kitchen table.
“Or something?”
“Or something,” he replied with a smug grin so seductive it made my insides turn to lava. “Drive safe?”
“I-I will.”
Halfway out the front door, Elliot called back to me, “Aera?”
“Yeah?”
“I had fun last night.” He shot me a wink, and the door slammed shut behind him before I had the chance to reply.
Well, Elliot was gone for good… and he totally left his shirt in the dryer. He might want to add forgetful to his list of shortcomings too after walking home shirtless post-blizzard.
Finally alone, I expelled a deep breath and sunk down onto one of the wooden chairs at the table. That went better than expected, right? Definitely cringeworthy, but it wasn’t as painful as I initially thought it’d be.
I might’ve been cutting my trip short, but I had accomplished spending an entire night without thinking of work for once which was something to be proud of.
Hey, baby steps were still progress.
* * *
I didn’t wantto stay in Comets Valley. I really didn’t.
In fact, I made it four towns over before realizing I left my stupid tablet on the nightstand and had to turn around to get it.
There were a few minutes where I debated asking Juliet to ship it back to me when she got back to town. But then I remembered what she’d find on my browser if she accidentally opened it up.
And that was how I found myself turning the steering wheel and pressing firmly on the brakes as I pulled into the short driveway in front of Juliet’s house once again. Pulling my phone out from my coat pocket, I thumbed out a quick text to her.
Aera:Don’t be alarmed if you get reports of a burglar. It’s just me dropping back by to pick up something I left.
Knowing how quickly these townies spread news, I had to make sure my bases were covered before I went in so I wouldn’t get arrested. A few seconds later, my ringtone beeped, and Juliet’s name appeared on the screen.
Before I had the chance to say hello, a feminine, syrupy voice sounded through the speaker, “Aera! I can’t believe you’re leaving. Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but Ben dropped by to pick up your laptop, and I let him take it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Hopefully, he wasn’t too much of a pompous jerk toward you?” I questioned, silently hoping he didn’t insult my new friend.
There was an extended pause on the other end of the line and her voice raised an octave when she finally spoke. “Yeah… he’s great. Really great, actually.”
Great? Really great?
At this point in life, I arguably knew Ben better than I knew myself and as much as I cherished our friendship, “great” wasn’t in the first ten thousand words I’d use to describe his personality.
