Chapter Twelve

The following morning, I woke up to an empty bed. A note and a glass of fruit juice stood on the bedside table. I eagerly gulped the fruit juice down as I picked the note up and read it.

Roland had had to go into work that morning because he had a meeting scheduled. Otherwise he would have happily taken the day off and spent it with me. He thanked me for an amazing night in the note and told me to make myself at home.

As tempting as it was, I had had other plans for my day. The previous evening had offered me all sorts of clarity, but my thoughts were still running amok. There were certain things that Roland and I needed to do, certain discussions that were definitely in order. I wanted more than anything to be with him, but if that was going to happen then I was going to need to atone for certain things.

I hopped out of bed and begrudgingly pulled my clothes from the day before on. This was the problem with spontaneity – you had no time to plan for a spare outfit. It didn’t bother me so much once I left the quaint house that was Roland’s.

I have things to do today.

Meet me at our secret spot.

Saturday, 3 p.m.

I had left a note on Roland’s bedside table. I deliberately used the same words that he had in the letter all those years ago. It meant that I wouldn’t see him for an entire week. I already knew that that was going to be difficult but I had a plan to get on with.

That day, I visited several stores that I had never before entered or even noticed. I bought several things both for myself and for the benefit of my plan. My favorite was when I had gone into the jewelry store. A woman there had been flirting with me until I had informed her of what I was there for. Her expression had turned sullen but she had her own job to do.

The moment I told her that I was looking for something in particular for a man, her expression completely changed. As the realization dawned that I played for the other team, she became chipper once again to me.

“Thank you for all your help,” I said as I was leaving. “You were truly fantastic.”

She blushed, fluttering her long lashes up at me. “He would be an idiot if he didn’t like it.”

With one last smile, I left the store and made my way home. It was a hell of a walk. I only checked my phone when I walked into my house. There were two missed calls from Roland, as well as three messages. All of them said more or less the same thing. He was asking me where I was. He wanted to see me.

I really hoped that he wouldn’t be too upset with me.

I’ll see you on Saturday.

I texted that back and then began getting ready. Over the next few days, I had to physically stop myself from going to the office or to Roland’s house. It took a lot of effort for me to not text him back when he asked me what was going on. I needed to wait. I needed him to know that he was worth waiting for. I had waited for most of my life for him and now I needed him to know that.

On Friday evening, I received a call from Alyssa.

“Lyle, Lyle, Lyle, Lyle, Lyle.”

“Okay, whoa, yeah? That would be me?”

“You will not believe what happened!” Her voice was high-pitched and she was giggling, full of excitement.

“Go on, honey, tell me what happened.”

“Freddie called me and he asked me out and he told me that he really likes me.”

“Ally, you know you’re like a high school girl sometimes, right?”

“Shut up, this is a big deal, Lyle.”

“I know it is. I’m only pulling your leg. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, Lyle. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that! I’ll see you soon. Kisses!”

“Kisses.”

She hung up, leaving me with a smile on my face. That was a good piece of news to go to bed with, I thought. The following day was going to be the most nervous day of my life. I hoped Roland wasn’t upset with me for not being around much.