Chapter 9
Sloan
♪ A Beautiful Mess | Jason Mraz
There was a small wet spot on my kitchen tile. “I think I’ve got a leaky pipe,” I told Jason over the phone. I started pulling out all the cleaning products from under my sink and dabbed at the damp surface with my finger. “Ugh, it’s definitely wet under here.”
“I can have a look at it for you when I get back,” he offered, a hopeful edge to his voice.
Jason was coming home tomorrow. He was packing his hotel room up as we spoke and heading to catch a flight in just a few hours. My stomach flipped again. It had been roiling for days in anticipation of meeting him in person. I was a mess. My eyelid twitched mercilessly from the stress.
“No, you’re not coming over here,” I said again. “I’ll meet you like we planned.”
“Come on, at least let me meet you at a restaurant. What kind of date is Starbucks?”
“It’s not a date,” I reminded him, sliding a bowl under the slow drip.
“Oh, that’s right. It’s an appointment.”
We’d known each other for two weeks, and for the last week of that, we’d spoken daily, for hours a day. We texted nonstop when we weren’t talking. I liked him so much it was ridiculous. I think I knew him better in a week than I’d known Brandon in six months—Jason was a lot less shy. But I couldn’t bring myself to agree to a real date. Not until we met in person.
“I just don’t want things to be weird,” I said, turning and sliding down to the floor with my back against the dishwasher. I closed my eyes and put a finger on my spasming eyelid.
“Why would they be weird?”
Because you’ve never seen me before? Because we’ve talked constantly for the last week and you’ve never even been in the same room with me?
I didn’t answer.
The long sound of a zipper closing on luggage came through the line. “Put Tucker on the phone,” he said.
“What?”
“Tucker, put him on the phone.”
“Like, put the phone up to his ear?”
“Yes.”
I got up and found Tucker sleeping on the sofa. “Should I leave you two alone for this?”
“Yeah, this is just between us guys.”
“Okay, here goes.” I held the phone to Tucker’s ear. He immediately perked up at the sound of Jason’s voice. He cocked his head and listened and then bolted off the sofa and tore around the living room, barking.
I put the phone back to my ear, laughing. “What did you say to him?”
“I asked him to show you how excited I am to meet you. Actually, I told him there’s a squirrel outside, but I think he still illustrated my point.”
I smiled into the receiver. Then I moved the phone away from my mouth and swallowed. “I made you something.”
“You did? What is it?”
“Just something. I’m going to send it to you now. I hope you like it.”
I attached a link to a text and held my finger over the little arrow that would put it into the universe. I took a nervous breath and sent it through.
No getting it back now. It was done.
“I’m going to go to bed early,” I said. “Have a safe flight, okay? I guess I’ll see you tomorrow…”