Page 33 of Text Appeal

“I didn’t realize you wanted any.”

Her nose goes up, but nothing is said.

“How was your trip?”

“Long. Lonely.” She takes a sip from her drink. “You do realize he’s just using you to get back at me. To teach me a lesson.”

“Is that what he’s doing?” I glance at him over my shoulder. “In all honesty, he’s so pretty, I don’t mind. Wait. Does that make me shallow?”

“He won’t talk to me. Why else would he show up here with you except to make me jealous?”

“Maybe he’s trying to leave the past behind and move forward. Maybe this is, or was, an attempt at being friends.” The maybes are doing a lot of heavy lifting here. But I’m lying for the good of us all.

She tosses her head in disdain. “Please.”

“Do you want us to leave?”

“No.” Her nostrils flare delicately. “Stay. Both of you—I guess.”

“Such a generous invitation.”

“But you have to know, he’ll come back to me,” she says with nil doubt. “He always has.”

“Yeah. You might have mentioned that a time or two.”

“I just need to be patient. He loves me and we’re perfect together. It will happen.”

I keep my mouth shut and let her talk. She obviously needs to get it out. Just purge the idiocy from her system.

“I hurt his feelings so he’s going to make me work for it. But there’s a bond between us that can’t be broken.” She shoots me a look. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s nothing personal. I mean, you seem like an okay person.”

“Thanks, Ava. That’s big of you. Can I ask a question?”

“What?”

“When was the last time he willingly communicated with you before tonight?”

She discreetly checks on our audience. Some pretend to be engrossed in their own conversation. But most don’t even bother. People in this town are wild. In a quiet voice, she confesses, “Christmas.”

“And he only changed his number last week. Interesting.”

“You make it sound like I’ve been harassing him for half a fucking year. That’s not how it was,” she growls. “He wanted space, and I gave it to him. I only decided to come back for the reunion a couple of weeks ago. That’s when I told him I was coming home and things had changed. That I missed him and wanted to sort things out between us. But he kept leaving me on read.”

“No answerisan answer. You’re old enough to know that.”

“Why am I even talking to you about this?”

“I honestly have no idea. Both of our therapy bills would probably be lower if you didn’t.”

“Anyway…it’s not like things are that great between you two,” she says with a trace of a sneer. “You barely even know each other.”

“It was love at first sight.” I sigh with all the whimsy I have in me. “A magical all-consuming connection you can’t explain. Like the universe wanted us to be together. From the moment we laid eyes on each other it’s been nothing short of amazing.”

“If the universe wanted you to be together so badly, why hasn’t his car been seen parked outside your apartment overnight?”

Shit.“All-nighters during the week in this economy?”

“Like I said, not much of an attraction if it’s so easy to keep your hands off each other.”

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