Page 22 of Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances)
“Jesus, Kate. It’s me,” Jay says, stepping under the glow of a streetlamp. I’m breathing heavy with my hand on my chest as he approaches me. “Hey…what’s wrong, Sunshine?” It’s not until his thumb swipes my cheek and comes off wet that I realize I’m crying. Which, of course, causes me to cry harder. “Damn,” he says, pulling me into his chest. He makes soothing sounds as he rubs my back.
“You didn’t call,” I say after a while of him holding me. It’s been two weeks since our amazing kiss in the parking lot. I hadn’t even known if he was still in the state. And now he’s here. Holding me.
“I wasn’t over myself,” he says, and I laugh. I slap his chest, and he pulls away from me, tipping my chin up. “What’s this all about? I know you’re not this upset over me not calling.”
I step away from him and shake my head. “No. My roommate’s dad is in the hospital. She left tonight to drive home to Charleston to be with him. I’m worried about her being on the road by herself, and I’m worried about him. She never said what was wrong so I don’t know how bad it is. I’m just overwhelmed, I guess.”
“Why didn’t she fly home?” he asks, apparently addressing the easiest part of that first.
“She has health issues so she can’t fly. I told her I’d go with her, but by the time she called me, she’d already left,” I tell him, getting frustrated with Casey all over again. “I’m sorry, you’re not here to listen to me vent. What’s up?”
“Don’t apologize. I just wanted to see you.”
“Oh…that again, huh?” I roll my eyes and bend to pick up my keys from the ground. “Well, you’ve seen me,” I say once I’m upright, then I turn away from him and walk to my car. I’m not playing games with him. If he wants to see me…to talk to me…to do whatever with me…he needs to get his head out of his ass. I’m not interested in being tossed around like a yo-yo and listening to his self-deprecating monologue. Either he’s in or he’s out.
“I’ve missed you.” He says it so quietly that I could pretend I hadn’t heard it if I wanted to…
But I stop walking and turn to face him again. It’s dark, and he’s no longer standing under the streetlight, so I can’t make out his expression, but his stance reminds me of the vulnerable posture he’d had that first night in the restaurant. He’d looked defeated then, and he seems defeated now.
“Yeah? Well, what are you gonna do about it?”
