Page 86 of Becoming Us

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That would have to do.

I stared at the message, waiting like an idiot. Then shoved my phone back into my pocket.

You did the thing. Now go home. Be sane.

My phone vibrated, and I nearly dropped it in my rush to grab it.

Atty Love-of-my-life King

I’m cooled off

My chest lit up. Hope bloomed fast and bright.

Me

yeah?

do you think I could call you?

or we could text too

if that’s what you want

I can text

The typing dots appeared, flickered, disappeared. Then came back. Then vanished again.

Okay. Maybe he wasn’t ready. That was fine.

Suddenly, his name flashed across my screen as a call came through.

I picked it up on the first ring. “Hey!”

“Hey.” His voice was soft. Cautious.

“I’m glad you called.”

He didn’t answer right away. I let the silence stretch a second too long.

“I’m sorry, Atty. I didn’t mean what I said. The last thing I want is for you to?—”

“Noah.”

“Yeah?”

He sighed into the line. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

My mouth parted. “I didn’t?”

“I mean, you could’ve skipped the part where you called me desperate…”

I cringed, eyes shutting tight. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know. But that’s not really the point.” His voice stayed calm. “When we got back together, you asked for one thing—time before we had sex—and all I’ve done since is push. Oneverything, if I’m being honest. I think the problem is we want different things, and we haven’t figured out how to meet in the middle.”

I shook my head, heart sinking. “I want what you want, Atty. I promise I do. It’s not about that.”

“Noah—”

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