Page 28 of One More Round

“Simon?”

“I was just out.”

My face starts to heat. And a pang of jealousy—I won’t pretend that I don’t know exactly what it is—stabs me in the chest. He doesn’t owe me an explanation, but the fact that he hesitated and got really vague about it, tells me he was probably on a date. Most likely with that chick from The Bar. I start to get mad when I remember one crucial fact. We are just friends. And barely that.

Check yourself, lady.

“Cool. So, what was your reason for the creepy text tonight?” I’m rewarded with a deep chuckle.

“I don’t really have one, to be honest. Is that OK?”

My pangs of jealousy fade almost as quick as they came, and a different feeling takes hold.

Our conversation is light and comfortable for the next few minutes.

“So, I was thinking …”

“Uh-oh,” I chuckle. He laughs.

“I thought that we should go see a movie or something.”

“Hmm. OK. Like, get the group together?” I'm cautious here.

“No. Just us.”

“Like a date?”

“More like a two-friends-who-haven’t-hung-out-in-eight-years kinda thing.”

I’m just a little shocked right now because we just established we are friends, we’ve talked more in the past 10 minutes than we have in eight years, and now he wants one-on-one time with me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy about this, but I can’t help but be a little hesitant.

“Or we don’t have to,” he grumbles into the phone.

“No, no! I want to, it's just … all really fast.”

“We spent most of our time back then as just us.”

The way he says “us” makes me nearly melt.

“I miss us,” I whisper, unsure of how he will respond.

“Me too.” His voice is kind and soft now.

The silence across the airwaves lasts a few seconds.

“OK. When and what movie?” I ask. He clears his throat.

“Anything but a chick flick.”

“What?! Those are your favorite!” I laugh.

Chapter Fourteen

Simon

Two days ago, I decided to try to put my issues with Gia in the past where they belonged. After having dinner with her, Ruby, and Link, I realized that I fucking missed Gia. Things between us finally felt less awkward.

I found myself wanting to talk to her. I thought about how nice it would be to just send her a text. That's when I remembered that I didn’t have her number. Morgan had mentioned once that we needed to have everyone’s numbers, so that’s how I had Ruby’s. Now that I think about it, though, it makes sense that no one ever gave me Gia’s.

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