Page 52 of Running Into You
“I’m going to see Maggie at work tomorrow. We’ve texted back and forth a few times this week. I’m going to try to talk to her about Mark. I’m nervous to do it, but I’m more nervous not to do it. Does that make sense?”
“It makes total sense. She’s so lucky to have you.” I tell her, my mouth suddenly dry.
“I’m the lucky one. Seriously, you should have seen my pores before I met her. Oh! That reminds me! Wait right here!” She enters her apartment and comes back a few moments later with a bar of soap. “It’s the honey soap you liked so much,” she says, blushing as she hands it to me. I take it from her and raise it to my nose, inhaling the sweet fragrance. Bad idea. Memories of our shared showers flood my mind.
“Betty, this is amazing, I love…” the words come before I can stop them. I step toward her, we’re close enough to kiss. I pull my gaze away from her lips and see the need in her eyes, but it’s mixed with uncertainty. I hesitate and pull away. “…it. I love it. The soap. Thank you.” Smooth. She recovers quickly and puts on a brave face.
“You’re welcome,” she says, nodding. “I’m going to get ready for work now. Thanks for the run.”
“Anytime,” I say, watching her go back into her apartment. I stand there for a full minute after she closes the door. Reluctantly, I leave and walk two doors down. I could have kissed her. I wanted to. She wanted me to. But a kiss wouldn’t have been enough to satisfy either of us. I would have carried her into her apartment and made love to her until both of us didn’t ache anymore. Things would have been like they were before. And eventually, everything would fall apart again.
I spend a long time in the shower, just letting the water hit me, the smell of honey wafting over me. When I can’t take it any longer, I let myself think of her while I take care of myself. I come hard and fast, saying her name.
***
“Happy Friday NSYNC!” Frankie greets me cheerfully as I enter the office. “Are you ready to say ‘Bye Bye Bye’ to this school week?”
“I wish you wouldn’t call me that.” I groan, dropping my duffle bag by her desk and sinking into my chair.
“Aww, it’s ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart’ hearing that you feel that way.”
“You seem awfully familiar with that particular group’s discography.”
“My older sister was a legit groupie. Played their music constantly and had their posters on every vertical surface of her room. She tried to sneak backstage at a concert on their No Strings Attached tour. Well, really there was no sneaking involved. She was fourteen at the time, and even shorter than I am, when she attempted to outmaneuver a group of three-hundred-pound security guards. Tried to crawl between one of their legs! They held her in some sort of mall cop custody room until my dad and I went to pick her up. Dad had to convince them that she was not an actual threat to anyone.” She wipes her eyes at the memory. “That was a great Thanksgiving.”
I laugh loudly, letting my head fall back. Frankie has an endless supply of hilarious stories from her childhood. She really should compile them into a book. When I finish laughing, I see her looking at me, head tilted to the side.
“Someone is in much better humor this week.” She observes. She’s not wrong. I was not the most pleasant office mate last week. I barely spoke to anyone; other than the kids I teach. To her credit, Frankie gave me a wide berth and didn’t ask any questions.
“Yeah,” I admit. “Sorry if I was a dick last week.”
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘dick,’ and not just because I don’t care for it,” she smiles thoughtfully. “It was kind of like watching the video for ‘Thinking Of You’ over and over again.”
“How many NSYNC references do you have stored up there?”
“So fucking many.” She grins. “So. Things are better in your neighborhood?” She puts a hard emphasis on the word neighbor. I didn’t tell her that Betty was the reason I was upset last week and apparently, I didn’t need to.
“Yeah. Getting there, anyway.” At least I hope they are. It bothers me that Betty didn’t talk to me after we ran into her ex. I didn’t want to press her on Saturday. The evening had been upsetting enough, and I didn’t want to make things worse.
Just thinking about how he looked at her makes my blood boil. Like he knew her inside and out and thought he could control her. Like he owned her. I thought I disliked that Andrew guy, but Kurt is on an entirely new level of hatred. The way Betty was in his presence. She looked like she wanted to hide but couldn’t find cover. Her face was pale and her body rigid. I wanted to throw myself in front of her, to shield her from him, to keep her safe.
On Monday, it was like nothing had happened. She showed up for her run with a smile on her face, and like hell was I going to take it away from her by bringing up Saturday night. If she would just talk to me, then maybe I could understand why she’s so against relationships. I want to be open with her, but I’m afraid of scaring her away again. She’s so guarded. I really want to be there for her, but I can’t if she doesn’t let me in.
“Glad to hear it, my friend. Do you have any plans for the weekend? Abby’s been at me to have you over again and now that you’re no longer the human equivalent of Eeyore fromWinnie-the-Pooh, we were wondering if you wanted to come for dinner again.”
“I’d love to, but I’ve got plans.” I definitely don’t have plans, but I’m hoping Betty will want to hang out tomorrow night. Something casual. No pressure. Maybe even just go see a movie together. “Rain check?”
“Absolutely, J.T.”
“Are you going to keep coming at me with NSYNC references from now on?”
“‘This I Promise You.’”
Chapter 31
Betty
Maggie’s studio always smells like citrus and vanilla, and I never tire of it. The citrus is from the cleaning product she uses, and the vanilla comes from the soy candles that burn on a table near the far corner. She’s finishing with a client when I enter, and I seat myself in the small waiting area. She gives me a wink when she spots me.
