Page 21 of Hate You Forever

I grab his wrist and pull him off to the side, away from the long line of people trying to get their snacks. “What are you doing here? How?”

He shrugs as he tucks his hands into his pockets. “Sorry for just showing up like this. I haven’t been able to log back on, and I had some time off, so I figured I’d come see you. I stopped in town, and they said everyone was at this game, so here I am.”

I giggle and smile, suddenly nervous. “You haven’t been able to see any of the messages I sent you?”

“No, we had another big storm, and it knocked out a lot of power. That’s why I got some time off. Can’t work without power. And I was worried that you’d be concerned since you hadn’t heard from me.”

“Jay, who’s this?” Pearl asks, coming up to stand at my side.

“Oh.” I look from Paul, to her, and back. “This is…this is Paul,” I finally say, pulling it all together.

Pearl looks from him to me with wide eyes. “Oh, Paul. Internet Paul?”

He laughs and shoots her a warm smile. “That’s the one. It’s nice to meet you. Pearl, I assume?” He holds out his hand.

Pearl manages to wipe away the shock covering her face and returns his smile. “Yeah, yep. I’m Pearl.”

I grab her arm and pull her back a few steps, holding up my finger to Paul. “What the hell do I do?” I whisper, hoping he doesn’t overhear me.

“I thought you said you broke things off with him,” she whispers back.

“I did, but he hasn’t seen his messages yet. They had a storm that knocked out power. He thought I’d be worried, so he came here. I can’t break up with him after he’s traveled all this way.”

“What about Memphis? Please don’t screw things up with him, Jay. He’s the love of your life, the one you never thought you’d get back, but you did. You did, Jay!”

I take a deep breath. “I know, but Paul.” I gesture toward him, and we both look in his direction as he lifts his arm to check his watch.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to take him back to my place. We’ll sit down, have a talk, and then I’ll break the news to him.”

“And Memphis?”

Fuck. Memphis. I can’t exactly tell him that I’m taking another man home to my apartment alone. “Just tell him I wasn’t feeling well and had to leave.”

She nods.

“No, then he’ll come check on me. Fuck, Pearl. What do I say?”

She thinks it over for a moment. “I’ll tell him that your mom called and was needing your help. I’ll tell him that you’ll just call him tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I nod. “Thanks. I never in a million years thought that he’d show up here.”

“Me neither,” she agrees, stretching her eyes wide.

She heads back to the stands, and I lead Paul out of the football field, toward my apartment building.

“I only live a few blocks from here,” I tell him as he walks by my side.

I can’t believe that he’s here. I can’t believe that he’s real. He’s drop dead sexy, just like in all his pictures. I smirk and shake my head.

“What? What is it?” he asks, feeling out of the loop.

“It’s just that…I was almost convinced that you weren’t who you said you were. I thought I was talking tosome fifty-year-old man that lived in his mom’s basement. I thought your pictures were something stolen off someone’s Facebook profile. I’m a little shocked that you’re here. I mean, you’re hot! How are you still single?”

He laughs and takes my hand in his. It almost feels like I’m cheating on Memphis, even though we haven’t sat down and talked about what we are yet. He asked me at the garage, but I couldn’t answer him. “I’m single because I work too much. I’m halfway around the world from all of my friends and family, and my phone and internet service are shotty on a good day. It’s impossible to maintain any kind of relationship. That’s why I was determined to not lose you.”

I take a deep clearing breath. “I can’t believe you came all this way.” We’re in front of my apartment building now, and I lead him to the door. I slide my hand into my pocket and pull out the keys, unlocking it. The moment it’s open, Noodle comes running out, straight to the yard to do his business.

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