Page 72 of Finding Jess

Sam watched her, wondering what she would’ve said about them. Wondering if she would’ve said something similar.

But the thing was, they werealwayshappy. Even when there wassomething—they’d always been happy when they were together.

Jess stayed quiet for another moment before throwing the next rock. It landed in the cup with a thud.

And still, she stayed quiet, watching it for a long moment.

“All out of questions?” Sam asked in a teasing tone, trying to break whatever seemed to be plaguing Jess at that moment.

But still, Jess stared at the cup, an intensity filling her features.

Then finally, she turned to her.

“Why didn’t you call again after that first time?”

Sam stared at her, her heartbeat quickening in her chest.

There were so many things that flowed through her mind. So many potential answers, but none of them fit. None of them really seemed to answer the question. And maybe, still, after all these years, she didn’t know what that answer was.

“I don’t know,” Sam said softly.

Jess stared at her with more intensity than she’d seen since the moment they’d first run into each other again.

Then, finally, she turned away.

Sam wanted to say something else. Something that would let Jess know how complicated the answer was. That it wasn’t just something she’d never thought about or never considered. But she didn’t know how to say it.

She turned, picking up another rock.

She threw it, landing in the cup.

And before she could second guess it, she asked the first question that came to mind.

“Did you want me to call you again?”

Jess didn’t look at her. She didn’t even move a muscle as she said, “I don’t know.”

She’d halfway expected that answer. It was what she deserved after having just given her the same. But still, she couldn’t let it go.

“Did you?” she asked again, watching her.

Jess reached past her, grabbing another pebble. “One question only,” she muttered. “Those are the rules, right?”

She threw the rock immediately, easily landing it in the cup.

But Sam couldn’t focus on anything else. Some long-buried feeling had surfaced, gripping her attention and refusing to let go.

“Did you want me to call you again?”

Jess turned to her, something resembling challenging anger in her eyes. “Why should I have to answer that if you didn’t?”

Sam’s jaw tightened. “Ididanswer.”

Jess pursed her lips, shaking her head as she looked away. “That wasn’t an answer.”

“Did you want me to call you—”

“What do you want me to say, Sam?” Jess asked, whipping her head back to look at her, anger flaring in her eyes. “You want me to tell you that I waited for you? That, for days, I was disappointed every time someone called and the name on the screen wasn’t yours?”

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