Page 37 of Clean Out of Luck

“Why?” I look at him, waiting for him to say the truth.

“You know why. Don’t make me say it.”

“Iwillmake you say it,” I shoot back.

“I don’t want you biking or walking in the dark.”

I stare him down, wishing I could project all my angry thoughts at him. Except I can’t even articulate why I’m so mad at him. It’s not like all these bad dates have only happened because of him. But he keeps being there to witness my humiliation, and that especially bothers me.

“And Phoenix asked me to look after you while he was gone.”

Folding my arms across my chest, I watch as he squirms.

“How did you know I would be at Novel Notions?” I ask quietly. “Now is there anything else you need to get off your chest?”

He nods once. “Phoenix wanted to know you were safe…” His eyes go to the purse looped over my shoulder.

I glance down at the large, baby blue purse, curious why he’s staring at it. “You’ve already admitted Phoenix wanted you to check on me…”

Wade waggles his eyebrows up and down as though he’s trying to tell me something without words. “I promised him I wouldn’t tell you…but think about how I knew where you were.”

“And you’ve shown up here twice now…” I reach into the purse and pull out my phone. “Is this what you mean?”

Wade’s eyes widen. “You’re so hot.”

My cheeks flush and I try to remember that he’s trying tohelp me figure out something that Phoenix doesn’t want me to know. It’s not that he actually thinks I’m hot. That would be ridiculous.

I stare at the phone, hoping my cheeks aren’t too red. “Ohhhhh. Phoenix downloaded a tracking app on my phone didn’t he?”

I look up to see Wade nodding vigorously.

“I knew it,” I mutter. “It was probably Dad’s idea.” I unlock my phone and do a quick search. He’d added it to my workout folder. The one I never open. “See how much better it feels with the truth out in the open?”

Wade chuckles. “Not going to lie, it did feel a little creepy. But he made me promise not to tell you. So it’s a good thing you found it on your own, right?” He winks.

I grin at him and put my phone back in my purse. I like that he was honest with me. That he’s trusting me enough to tell me—without words—that they were literally spying on me.

“Just promise to call me if you need me, okay?” The earnest look on his face is adorable.

“I will. You really don’t need to worry about me though.”

“But I am worried about you. If something happened to you, it could be a couple of days before someone even realized something bad had happened.”

Forget him being sweet. He’s still a giant pain in the butt. “What’s that supposed to mean? Do you think I don’t have friends? I have friends! People who would notice if I was gone.”

“If you’re talking about Lilly, I happen to know she is as bad at communicating as you are.”

I grab my emergency tube of lipstick from my purse and walk to the mirror hanging in my living room. I lean forward and apply a good layer before answering him. “You know, it’sfunny. You would think, with me being a court reporter, I would be pretty decent at communicating. I type all day. It shouldn’t be that hard to send a text or make a phone call. But sometimes, by the end of the day, the most daunting task I can do is pick up my phone and send a text. It’s like this looming task that takes an unbearable amount of effort.”

I cap the lipstick and put it back in my purse and turn to face Wade whose gaze is firmly focused on me. “I don’t know why I just said that to you. Please pretend like I didn’t.”

Wade continues to study me. “Okay, I get that. Not completely, because I don’t have that feeling, but I understand what you’re saying. So if it’s too much to respond to a call or a text, I want you to send me just one emoji as proof of life. That’s it. That’s all I’m asking.”

He folds his arms across his chest and leans back against the island in my kitchen. I don’t answer him yet as I mull over his request. Hedidtell me about the spyware. That’s trust.

Wade continues, “You don’t owe me any words. You don’t owe me any explanation. All I want to know is that you are okay.”

I stare at him for a few minutes while I take in what he’s saying. It’s so different from how my family would respond. They would admonish me for not texting back, for not giving a paragraph in response to their question. They wouldn’t understand my need to just stay silent for a little bit. And yet here is Wade, the extrovert, who may not understand where I’m coming from, but he’s willing to meet me where I am.

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