Page 42 of When the Angel Falls First

“They’re in a world of their own.”

That’s what I wanted. To rebuild my own world. I had been on that path before Caleb showed up, having the Bookish Cat to keep me busy. But now I just felt… less than.

Without thinking, I grabbed my laptop and opened FindYourGuy.com.

My inbox was flashing with a new message.

RockCollector89: Hey Josie, how did the family event turn out? Hope it wasn’t as rocky as one of my collections…

He remembered. That was sweet.

Josie: It was good. Lots of fun, maybe a little too much.

RockCollector89: Ah, sounds like a landslide of a party! Anything you want to talk about? I’m all ears, unless you count my rock-hard abs…

I laughed and shook my head. This guy, his humor, was a lot to take in. Was I ready to dive deeper into this? I had a lot on my plate already. Caleb’s matches, the bookstore, Nana’s bombshell of a revelation. But maybe that was all the more reason to just go for it. A distraction could be good. A non-celestial, pun-loving distraction. Though it wasn’t easy to tell from his profile picture if the rock-hard abs thing was true or a convenient analogy.

Josie: You’re quite the comedian, aren’t you?

RockCollector89: I try. Keeps things light, you know? Otherwise, life would be as dull as dirt.

Josie: It’s refreshing.

I sighed. Anything that would make me forget about that asshole of an angel would hit the spot. Something light. Something… normal. And at least he didn’t make a pun that time. I made a split-second decision and typed before I could second-guess myself.

Josie: Want to take this to the phone?

RockCollector89: Oh, I’d be delighted! But I have to warn you, my phone voice is a little, um, gravelly.

Josie: I’ll risk it.

I sent him my number before I could stop myself.

Here goes nothing.

The phone rang almost immediately, the sudden jingle startling me out of my thoughts.

“Hello?” I answered, my voice shaky.

“Hi, Josie,” a warm voice greeted me from the other end, his tone soft and rich, reminding me of smooth, polished stones.

Oh look, he got me into the puns now.

“Hi… RockCollector89?” I replied, realizing I didn’t even know his real name.

He chuckled, a sound like boulders clashing together in the most harmonious way. “Actually, it’s Ethan. But I’ll take RockCollector89 if you prefer.”

“Ethan it is,” I said, smiling despite myself. His light humor and the ease with which he approached the entire situation made it hard not to. And I had to admit that his voice was kind of hot. That was unexpected.

There was a small pause before he said, “Josie, I know it’s sudden, but I’ve always been an in-person kind of guy. Would you like to go out tomorrow night?”

The suddenness of the proposition almost made me dropthe phone. But what the hell was I waiting for? Did I want to have phone sex with a geologist? No, sir. Worst case scenario, we talked about the controversy around quartz countertops for an evening. “Sure, Ethan. That sounds nice.”

“Fantastic!” he replied, his excitement palpable through the line. “I promise I won’t take you forgranite.”

“Ouch, that was a rough landing. Some might even call it… rocky.”

He laughed, deep and sincere. “I’ll text you details. See you tomorrow, Josie.”

---