Page 5 of The Lover
Jake
Sunday
The phone rangand I swiped to connect the call. It was Sunday and I had been waiting for her. She was a little late tonight, but that was all right.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey back. How is it going?”
“Okay.”
Okaywas better thancan I come home. She hadn’t asked it since I told her no, but I could tell each week she wanted to. This time she sounded a little different. This time herokaywas a little less depressing.
“Okay?” I prompted.
“I made another friend.”
“What’s her name?”
“His name is Denny. He’s really funny.”
Denny. Swell. My hand tightened on the phone.
The pause must have revealed something of my… irritation?
“He’s just a friend, Jake. It’s not… like that.”
“Oh.”
“There was a guy who asked me out, though. Which was so weird. Like he didn’t know me at all. We had never talked. He just saw me in the bookstore and was like,want to go out sometime?”
Sometimes I forgot that about her. She truly didn’t get it. How gorgeous she was. Of course any guy in his right mind who saw her would be attracted to her. Why not ask her out if he had a chance?
“What did you say?”
“I said I would think about it… but I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know him at all and I don’t know if I feel comfortable going out with a total stranger.”
This was the part where I was supposed to sayhow are you ever going to get to know him if you don’t go out on a date with him.
Instead I said, “Go with your gut. If you don’t want to go out with the guy, then don’t.”
“Okay. I won’t. How is Isabella?”
“She’s finally turning a corner. Sam thinks she’s out of the woods for now.” Sam was the large-animal vet in town. He’d been making weekly house calls. Probably to put my mind at ease. Everyone, I suppose, knew how I was with the animals in my care. Like an overprotective father.
“Good.”
I thought to bring it up. To ask her if she was settling in better, but if she wasn’t asking to come home I suppose that said it all.
I was happy about that. Happy she was making more friends. I was.
I was also lonely as hell and missing her like crazy. Not that I could tell her that. If she saw weakness in my armor she might attack, and I couldn’t have that because I was fairly certain I might cave.
“Classes are still going good?”
I didn’t know what else to ask about. I certainly didn’t want to talk about guys in her world anymore. I only knew I wanted her to continue talking. Because it was Sunday night and Sunday night was Ellie night.
She rattled on and I took it all in, and when she finally said goodnight I got that feeling again in my chest.
