Joey: Three days.
Jenny: Three days—but I make bad impulsive decisions, and I keep waiting for him to realize it. It’s like the longest game of chicken I’ve ever played
.
Ok, so some of my friends seem responsible. Six months to a month. Waverly and Lukas are outliers and shouldn’t count. Grae won’t fall in love with me in two weeks if I keep my guard up. I should be fine. Still, I have one more option. I don’t want to bring her into this, but I don’t think I have a choice.
Me: Can you talk?
Lena: Is it Apa?
Apa is our emergency code word, drop everything and get to her side as fast as humanly possible.
Me: No
Lena: I’m about to go into a concept meeting for the upcoming tour and then go to training. Talk later?
Me: Sure.
Cool, just me alone with my thoughts. What could possibly go wrong here?
This day is the longest day ever. I’m pretty sure we did a time loop around 11 am and 1 pm because I swear the clock never moved. But at 5:30 my phone buzzes. It’s not Lena, and my cheeks flush as soon as I see the name. Come on woman, get your shit together.
A Total Mistake (that’s what I called him in my contacts):
Hey my phone was rudely stolen earlier. Otherwise, I would have texted sooner.
Me: NP I was working.
A Total Mistake: You up for dinner?
I promised I wouldn’t ghost him, but I didn’t say anything about dinner. Or seeing him again. Say no. No. It’s two letters and a full sentence.
Me: absolutely
Dammit, okay it's only two weeks … whatever this is, and then go back to the original plan. This could work, right?
CHAPTER 12
Grae
Day 1
Shower number two required after a three-hour workout and two more for yoga, but at least I feel semi-human and in more control. I changed my shirt three times and my pants, debating if I had the casual cool thing going for me. I do not.
I’m twenty minutes early for dinner and stand outside of the burger place waiting for her. I wanted to take her to a super nice, fancy, Michelin star restaurant, one of those places that has edible gold, but those jerks at Mastodon froze my accounts.
A crowd of people shuffle down the sidewalk and in the middle is my blond, stunning future wife, and she’s wearing the same clothes I gave her this morning. Win!
“You didn’t go home to change?”
Should I lean in for a kiss on the cheek and say it's because I spent so much time in Europe? But her lips brush against my cheek instead. Victory Point 2.
“No, I spent all day at work.” I open the door and get a whiff of her perfume, vanilla and sugar, as she walks in.
The restaurant is a hole in the wall, awesome burgers but small, and there’s no need for a menu since it’s written on the wall in marker. Menu: beef burgers with lettuce, tomatoes and with or without bacon. Cheese optional.
Cheese is certainly not optional at all. After the day I had, protein and fat are exactly what I need. After we order, we sit at a slightly sticky round table in the corner. There’re only four tables, so I’m kinda grateful it’s a slow night.