Page 2 of The Wrong Side Of Us

11 p.m.

Would he still be up?

Building up courage, I dialed the phone number as I took a sip of the wine. I didn’t expect him to pick up; he was probably sleeping. Being head of the art department, Nathan barely even had time to eat anymore. I was very proud of him and all that he’d accomplished in the time I had been gone. Everything he had set his mind to was finally happening.

That didn’t change the fact that I missed him.

I was about to hang up when his face appeared on the screen, the chaos behind him much too loud. He was smiling, looking happy with his friends.

“Hey,” he said, lifting a beer. I lifted my glass up just the same, a toast from miles and miles away. “How was your date?”

I rolled my eyes. That would be something he asked me with everyone around him. “It was fine. How’s your night so far? Seems busy,” I said, covering myself up from the cool air.

“Just Lanthorn and his wife, couple of friends. Say hi,” he said, turning his phone so I got a view of his crowded house. Everyone greeted me as if they knew me, and I waved back.

Professor Lanthorn and Nathan had formed quite a friendship after the events of a year back. His wife and he tried many, many times to set him up with a couple of her friends. It never worked out as planned. One woman had a slight obsession with earthquakes which, for clear reasons, scared Nathan off. The other he’d decided they were better off as friends.

“Let me go somewhere quiet.” He excused himself, and I heard a door opening then closing as he sat down on the porch of the house.

“So, now you can tell me all about that date,” he said with a chuckle. I saw him take a sip of his beer, then run his hand through his hair. He wasn’t drunk, but a bit tipsy, much more relaxed than I’d seen him in a while.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Could have been better, I guess.”

“What was wrong with this one?”

“Nothing,” I sighed. “I just wasn’t too comfortable with him. No spark, nothing.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Jeez, Evie. I don’t remember you being this picky.”

I don’t, either.

“I’m not picky,” I replied, ready to tease him. “I just have bad luck with men.”

“Ouch.” He winced.

I giggled, leaning back in the chair. “You should see the city lights from here. They look beautiful,” I said quietly.

“Mm, show me.”

I smiled, switching the camera so he could see the scenery.

“Maybe one day soon you can give me a tour of New York City,” he said.

Right.

In the time that had passed, we hadn’t seen each other in person because, for one, I wasn’t ready to return to Pennsylvania, and for two, he never had time. His new job had given him additional responsibilities, and since he continued to teach, it wasn’t easy for him to dedicate time to anything else anymore.

Despite the distance and everything that happened between us, we had forged a strong friendship. I didn’t fool myself, though; I wasn’t sure how I’d react if we were ever face to face again. I told myself I would be strong, but Carter didn’t think so.

He said that it’s very difficult to just be friends with someone who had been so important in your life.

I thought Nathan and I were doing a pretty good job at it.

“Why the party?” I asked Nathan, switching the camera back around. “You don’t do those gatherings often.”

He shrugged the question off. “Eh, Thomas just thought it would be good to get together with a couple of friends. It’s been a pretty good night overall.”

“Met any girls?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

---