16
Three days passed. Three long and agonizing days alone, with just himself, his memories of the cabin, and his thoughts of Jessica to keep him company.
There’d been no call, no texts, no emails, just a deafening silence.
He went on his usual morning runs, but it was often very early, before anyone else was out. He would jog by Ever After, hoping to see Jessica through the window. An accidental meeting could be…convenient. But he never did see her, not at that hour anyway.
When Matt could no longer stand his own company, he stepped out of his apartment and into the cold sunlight. There was still snow everywhere, but gradually it was starting to melt. Soon enough spring would settle into Harper’s Corner, and he’d be long gone.
Matt knew he didn’t have to be. He could be here, with Jessica, living a life with her. He also was convinced it would never be possible. Whatever she’d suffered, wounded her so deeply that she struggled to let anyone in. Now they were stuck, after endless hours of love-making, wondering who would make the first move, if at all.
Matt walked down the main street, and as he did, he got several waves from passersby and a few “welcome homes.” In a town were very little happened, he was certain the story of the two of them trapped in a blizzard would remain a part of Harper’s Corner’s small-town legends for a long time.
He spotted Brew-haha, their local coffee house, which was owned by Jessica’s friend Adelaide, and went in. The Christmas decorations had come down to make way for Valentine’s Day décor. The café buzzed with conversation and smelled of warm, delicious coffee.
“I’ll have your New Year’s blend,” he gave a friendly nod to Adelaide who, of course, blushed. The girl was terminally shy.
“Matt, so good to see you, and welcome home. We had Jessica over the other evening to tell us all the details of…” she slapped a hand over her mouth.
Matt suppressed the urge to snicker while she muttered, “I’ll get your coffee.”
Matt took it as a good sign. Jessica had seen her girlfriends, and they’d talked, which meant she wasn’t totally mortified that they had sex. He decided to make the leap and take a chance. What the hell did he have to lose at this point?
He wandered up the street and spotted Jessica as she approached the door of Ever After. She dug in her purse for her keys, and as she slipped them in the lock he said,
“Hello, Jess.”
The keys hit the ground with a clank, and he noticed her hand shook. This wasn’t going well. He reached down to pick up the keys at the same time she did, and their faces came within inches of each other.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, figuring he might as well just put it all out there.
“H-hi, I-I…”
“Come on, let’s get you inside. It’s too cold out here.” He took the keys from her, touching her hand briefly, but long enough to give her a tingle, and then opened the door. He held it for her while she stepped inside.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What…are you doing here?” that was better, though not the nicest thing she could say.
While Matt walked into the dark store, she reached over to flip on the lights, but he covered her hand with his.
“Don’t. Not just yet.” He leaned in and kissed her gently. “Was that okay?” he asked softly.
She could only nod, because speaking at this juncture didn’t seem possible.
“I’d love to see you, maybe tonight, if you’re free. Dinner, my place?”
“Ummm—oh, uh.” What the hell is wrong with me? Get it together, she scolded herself. “S-sure, that would be nice.”
“Good,” he smiled, and his smile made her lady parts sing, and the devil on her shoulder perked up. Oh, can we have him one more time, please, please, pretty pleeeeese, her devil begged.
Then he leaned in and kissed her again, soft, warm, and gentle, and all she could think about was ripping his shirt off.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he called over his shoulder on his way out the door, leaving her to wonder what the hell she was getting herself into.
. . . .
The day wore on endlessly. And it wasn’t that Ever After wasn’t busy. It was insanely busy, in fact. She also spoke to the New York boutique, and they were quite understanding about the whole snowed-in thing. The meeting was rescheduled for two days later, and she was taking a train. With no snow in sight, she should be safe this time.
Jessica sent a quick text to Maggie: I’m seeing him tonight, for dinner.
That’s excellent, go for it.
I’m scared.
Scared is good. Tell him you’re scared.
Jessica didn’t respond. She had no intention of telling Matt how scared she was, because that would just bring the conversation around to why she was scared. The conversation would ultimately bring it back to his brother and reveal the evil loop they’d always be stuck in.
It was also the biggest reason why tonight she’d tell him this wasn’t going to work out. That they could just be friends, and that she’d cherish their days in the cabin.
Well, no, she couldn’t say that. Maybe she just wouldn’t mention the cabin. Maybe the elephant in the room would just go away.
Yes, and maybe the elephant would also learn to fly.