Page 42 of Fumbling for Perfection

“What do you consider not right away?” Kendall lowers her gaze at me. “Ten minutes?”

“He texts during the day and I don’t respond until night.”

“When you’re in bed? Yeah. Way to let him know you’re not interested.” Kendall scowls. “So what’s the delay tactic when he texts you at night?” She points to the phone on my lap that vibrates again.

“You should do the Band-Aid method. Break it off with him now. Dragging it out is only going to make it harder,” Rowan says.

I huff out a sigh and flip my phone over and open the texts.

OH GOD: I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?

OH GOD: Bad? Okay. I won’t get to see you this weekend.

OH GOD: Hm. No response. You’re either still at work, naked in the shower (please be naked in the shower. Or bed. Or anywhere) or you’re ignoring me. (shit. Now I sound desperate again)

OH GOD: I’m sure I’m killing you with suspense, so here’s the good. I’m flying into Boston on Wednesday and don’t have anything on my agenda until Friday afternoon. I’m hoping you can squeeze me in sometime. And by squeeze me in, I mean squeeze me. ;-)

“You’re white as a ghost.” Rowan squeezes my arm. “What did he say?”

I look up at my friends and a lone tear spills from the corner of my eye. “He’ll be here in three days.”

“Fuck.” Kendall polishes off her wine and paces my small quarters. “Actually, this is good. You can break it off with him in person. You’re not showing yet, so he won’t suspect anything.”

“It will be okay,” Rowan soothes.

“Will it? I turn to complete mush when I’m with him. He makes me forget about all this other shit I’m going through.”

“Want us with you? We can coincidentally bump into you two at a restaurant or something. Or maybe you can have dinner with Jackson and accidentally let it slip where you’ll be. Walker will see you two together and be heartbroken, but he’ll eventually move on.”

“I don’t know.” I bury my head in my hands.

“Are you worried about him finding out about Jackson or worried he’ll find out about the baby?” Kendall kneels in front of me. “Or are you hesitant because you don’twantto break things off with him?”

“All of the above.”

“Aren’t you and Jackson leaving for Rhode Island on Thursday anyway?” Rowan asks.

“Yeah.”

“Just ignore him?” Kendall offers.

“If I do that, he’ll show up at work and they’ll tell him I’m off for the long weekend to Rhode Island.”

“True. Alright. Here comes Kendall Wentworth’s tough lovin’. You’re going to text him back, tell him you’ll meet him at his hotel Wednesday night, shag the shit out of him, then tell him it’s been nice, but you’re looking for commitment and a husband, and he’s not able to fill that role living on the other side of the country. Also, he has too many red flags.”

“What are his red flags?”

“One, he hooked up with you within seconds of meeting you a few months ago. That’s not commitment or relationship material. Two, he keeps coming to Boston for his booty call, and it’s making you feel cheap.”

“You could say I have the same red flags since I’ve been an active participant.”

“Okay. Fine. Option B. Meet him at a restaurant. Tell him you’ve really enjoyed his company and would like to stay friends, but you met someone else, and geography is important to you. He’s a widower with a little girl and he’s made you realize how much you want to settle down and raise a family. Nothing like throwing in the settling down part to put a kibosh on the booty call.”

“I don't know if I can lie to him. He’ll see right through me.”

“You’ve only known him a few months, and in that time, only seen him a handful of times. Can he really see through you that easily?” Rowan asks.

“I don’t know. Maybe. Even so, I don’t like lying to anyone.”

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