Page 51 of For Your Heart
“If that’s your mother—” Jordan starts, irritation thick in his voice. He doesn’t like my mom. The indignation and protectiveness he has over me concerning her always makes my heart swell. But I shake my head, cutting off his threat.
“It’s Damon,” I say.
“What’s he want?” Jordan asks, voice still slightly aggrieved.
Biting my lip, I open the thread.
Damon
Boss said you went home early. You okay? Do you need anything?
My heart shouldn’t skip like this, right? It’s a friendly thing to ask. He’s just being friendly. It’s not a declaration of his undying affection.
“What’s it say?” River asks.
I repeat it and then look up at their faces.
“You left early?” Jordan asks.
Nodding, I shrug. “Yeah. I just… staying there felt too difficult. I didn’t have any clients and I have plenty of sick time, so I left.”
“Aw, honey,” River says. The sympathy on their face doesn’t make me feel small or pathetic like so many others do. It makes me feel like they actually understand what I feel. The confusion and hope and maybe a little excitement. Terror that it’s not real and will all slip away.
“Answer him,” Jordan says.
“With what? That I couldn’t stand to be around him when he was acting like I didn’t exist?”
“Sage, your boss isn’t going to volunteer that you left early. That means he asked about you. He noticed you were gone,” Jordan says.
I shiver. That’s true. It’s all true. He noticed. Biting my lip, I try like heck to keep my nerves and excitement down.
Me
Yes. I just needed to get out of there. I’m okay.
He answers back right away, which also makes me feel like I’m not some random guy. Maybe I meansomethingto him, even if it’s not what I want it to be.
Damon
Did the ex give you more of a hard time? Your mother?
Me
No, no. I’m all right. Really. But thanks for checking.
Damon
You don’t need anything? Soup? Rope? Wanna talk?
My heart swells and I hug Sparrow a little tighter. I swallow the feelings growing too rapidly inside me. The last thing I want is to end up heartbroken. I need to keep reminding myself of that.
Me
Thank you. Really. I’m having baby snuggles right now, so I’m okay. I really appreciate you checking on me, though.
I erase ‘it means a lot’ and then send before I say something too clingy.
Damon
