Page 26 of Drunk Dialing My Enemy

“So how was the store?” I ask him lamely.

“Fine.”

He doesn’t look at me, laying down on the floor and looking beneath the sink. I can’t even see his face now, just his torso and lower body. His muscular arms flex as he turns a screwdriver.

Even while anxious, I think I could watch him fix things all day. Something about this man when he’s holding tools just does things to me.

“Did you go anywhere else while you were out?” It’s the next question I can think of that isn’t“Are we okay? Why does it feel like the entire vibe has shifted? What’s going on?”

I know I shouldn’t freak out but then again this is the same guy who kissed me and then stood me up the next day without any explanation.

He was my first kiss.

Now he’s my firsteverything.

“Are you hungry?” I ask him. “I could make us some toast.”

“I’m okay for now.”

Okay, what the hell?

It’s like all connection has died since he returned from the store and I don’t know why. I stiffen, then blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

“Darren Daniel Baker, if you do not get out from beneath that sink right now and look me in the eye while you speak to me, I’m going to kick you out of your own building.”

The hand holding the screwdriver freezes, then slowly puts it down in the toolbox. I watch Darren’s large body slide out from beneath the sink and slowly stand upright.

My arms are crossed over my chest, giving myself a hug. I have to hold myself together, because I’ve already fallen apart over Darren once.

If I do it again, there will be no recovery. No third chance. Just a lot of rocky road ice cream and Gilmore Girls rewatching marathons as I try to stitch my heart back together and look for a new place to live at the same time.

“What’s going on, firecracker?”

His voice is etched with equal parts concern and bewilderment. The use of my nickname softens me.You’re an insecure nut, Katie. And he’s realizing it.

“Last night you had your tongue inside of me, and today you came back from the store and will hardly look at me,” I say, looking down. “So you tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing is going on,” he says.

“Are you lying?” I ask him.

“No!”

He looks genuinely insulted by the accusation.

“Okay, so you’re notlying,” I say. “But…what’s going on? It’s like your energy totally changed since you returned from the store. Did something happen? Are you having second thoughts about us?”

“Hell no! Are you crazy?”

“If I am, it’s because you make me that way. You’re the one who left first, remember? You kissed me and promised you’d be there and you weren’t.”

He shakes his head.

“I know, baby. I know I fucked up. I’m not that guy anymore, and I’ve meant every damn word I’ve said to you. I love you, Katie. I don’t want to lose you. Tell me what’s wrong. What do I need to do to fix this? Tell me and I’ll do it.”

He reaches for me, grabbing me by the belt loops of my jeans and pulling me to him.

The tension in my shoulders melts. Just a little.

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