Chapter 17

Lanie

Dirty Pirate Guy was no more.

“I don’t get where he could have gone,” Erica sullenly said, stirring the cocktail she’d gotten in place of her usual wine.

“You want me to justify that question with an answer?”

Even in the softly lit bar, her eye roll couldn’t be missed.

“Look at it this way. Now you can focus more attention on doing yoga.”

“Hm.” She pretended to mull over that. “Why, I never thought of such a thing.”

“Why, do give it a try.” I laughed, mimicking whatever proper accent it was she’d tried on.

“Tell me about Andrew again.” Erica fished the cherry out of her martini glass and bit it in half, her eyes wide and eager.

“I did tell you.”

“I know, but it’s so romantic. I can’t believe you have to wait another week to see him again.”

“Yeah.” The mention of going that long without his touch made a heavy rock form in my stomach.

“I mean, wow, he’s so, what’s the word? Chivalrous?”

“You had to search for that word?”

“Yeah, I had to dig it out of its grave.” She winked. “Because it’s dead and all. Get it?”

“Uh-huh.” I laughed.

“He left you at the door when all he probably wanted to do was fuck you till the sun came up.” Erica’s eyes rolled back, and she fanned herself.

“You don’t know that,” I protested, already aware of the heat on my face.

“Yes. I. Do. He asked for a second date. Do you think a man does that if he’s not interested?”

“Okay, fair point.”

Her eyes squinted slightly. “I’ve never seen you smile this big.”

“He’s nice.” I shrugged, but we both knew it was more than that. Andrew was amazing, my type in more ways than one. He’d been more than on my mind since we parted the night before. I swear I could still feel his touch. It covered my hands and lips, enveloping me in a strange mix of ease and giddiness.

“What are you going to wear next weekend?” Erica suggestively dropped her voice. “The white cotton panties?”

“Ugh. No. I realized later what a stupid idea that was.”

“Right. No sense in playing coy. He knows you want him as badly as he does you.”

Closing my eyes briefly, I saw Andrew’s gaze again, just as it was on my tiny porch. The desire there had been undeniable. “I wished he’d come in,” I breathed.

Opening my eyes, I found Erica staring at me. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to lose it.”

“I’m just ...” I faltered looking for the words.

“Super horny.”

“No. It’s more than that.”

“It’s okay. It’s been a long time since you’ve gotten laid. We’ve all been there.”

“It’s more than that,” I argued. “I want more of him, to talk with him, wake up to him.”

“And then get naked all over again.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Things are going well. Why rush it? The time will come. Probably sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah.” I checked the time on my phone, my heart sinking a little bit to see Andrew hadn’t texted me. We’d only been out once, but a part of me demanded to hear from him nonstop. Not rational, yes, but that’s the way it was.

“I should get going. There’s an early meeting tomorrow.” Erica signed the credit card receipt and stood. I followed her out into the night, noting the chilled breeze that had picked up since we’d entered the bar.

“Tell me anything and everything that happens.” Erica pulled me into a hug.

“I will.” I laughed into her long hair.

If only men knew how much women share with each other, I mused, they might all run screaming for the hills.

We went separate ways down the street, with me turning a corner to reach my car. Plugging my phone into the car charger, I eyed it warily.

On second thought, I snatched it up and put it away in the glove compartment. It could charge at the apartment. If I saw it beep or flash at all during the drive home, I’d be liable to run the car off the road in a desperate attempt to see if it was Andrew getting in touch.

The silence in my apartment was so loud, it rang, doing a full circle and becoming a sound in its own right. I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter, and the little clink they made on the laminate countertop made my skin crawl.

With movements that seemed too loud, I set my yoga mat down and slipped out of my shoes, plugged my phone in to charge, and poured a glass of water.

At the point where the living room met the kitchen, I did a full three-sixty, taking in the tiny apartment. When I’d first moved into the space, I relished the spot. It was far away from my parents, just as my mother complained—something I liked.

Now, though, it felt too removed from the outside world. For the first time, my seclusion didn’t feel like a good thing.

The painting Andrew had sent still leaned against the wall, right where I’d left it. It would have to go up sooner or later, but I hadn’t gotten the time. Plus, I liked looking at it as I left it. Each time my eyes fell on it resting on the floor, some of the joy and surprise from the day I received it came back.

Crossing back over the carpet, I gently ran my palm across the top of the canvas, making sure not to touch the paint. My insides were still jumping with nerves, and the location of my cell phone had nudged its way to the forefront of my brain.

Was it too soon to text him again?

Did that even matter?

No, I decided. I was an adult. I got to do whatever the hell I wanted, and I wasn’t into playing those cat-and-mouse relationship games.

Snatching up my phone from the charger, I sent a quick text Andrew’s way.

I keep thinking about next weekend. Can’t wait.

For good measure, I added an emoji with heart eyes.

Not wanting to drive myself crazy waiting for a response, I put the phone back down and hopped into the shower. The second I got out, though, I was back in the living room, towel around my chest.

Neither can I, Andrew had written back.

Smiling to myself, I brought the phone into my bedroom and hurriedly dressed. With short-shorts and a loose T-shirt on, I settled cross-legged on the bed and composed what, at that moment, felt like my magnum opus.

I hate that it’s a whole six days away.

Thinking on that, I decided to add a little something extra.

I wish you had stayed last night.

Pressing send, I snatched up a pillow and buried my face in it. Not only did I feel like a high school girl texting her crush, but I was also acting like one as well.

Next to me, the phone buzzed with a fresh text. Holding my breath, I peeked at the screen.

That would have been amazing. I woke up this morning wishing the same thing. Maybe we’ll get our chance soon.

My pulse pounded as I wrote back. No more second-guessing myself. Andrew had just made it very clear he had no problems whatsoever with a little flirtatious texting.

It’s good that we can do whatever we want…

The ellipsis was very intentional, of course. I wanted to see where he would take that statement.

Like what? Andrew asked.

Like you can come over here whenever you want, I answered. Even right now, if you wanted to.

My stomach did cartwheels, backflips, forward flips, maybe even a few side twists, as I waited for his next text.

Is that an invitation?

“Yes,” I said out loud.

I had to be smoother with the written word, though. The invitation is always open.

This time, there was no immediate response. A few minutes passed. Had I said the wrong thing?

My phone buzzed.

You have no idea how badly I want to come over there right now, but I shouldn’t. What are you doing tomorrow night, though? I can’t wait until Saturday to see you.

“Yes, yes, yes,” I whispered as I texted, Absolutely free.

I’ll pick you up at six, Andrew wrote.

Perfect, I shot back.

Not wanting to touch a conversation that could now only go downhill, I put the phone away and dropped back onto the mattress. From across the parking lot, traffic distantly hummed. Someone shouted, and a dog barked. Far away, sirens blared. They were all the usual noises of my world.

But everything was different.