Page 63 of The Fallacy of True Love
Has anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?
Cam
good doing business w u
Alonzo
Anytime, Camaya Cruz :)
My mouth broke into a grin as I pressed send. I’d been waiting to use that since she told me her full name. There was something lyrical about those four syllables and how they rolled off the tongue.
I imagined her reaction to it, and when several minutes went by without a reply, I figured she was back to being annoyed. I almost wished I could have delivered her papers in person, if only to bug her into replying to me. Maybe then I would have even convinced her to tell me the story behind that honorable dismissal.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cam
Hearing Jo’s laughter, I looked up from my laptop and watched her play with Eric and Milo by the shore. It was definitely a welcome sight after trying to decipher and refactor my client’s dirty code.
“There you are,” Nikki said from my right. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to snap out of work mode.”
I groaned. “Girl’s gotta hustle.” A glance at the time told me I’d been at this for almost two hours. Saving my progress, I put my laptop in its waterproof sleeve for the meantime. Then I stretched my neck and back.
Working cross-legged on a beach blanket wasn’t the ideal setup, but since it was a Saturday and Nikki had taken a break from the café, I wasn’t just going to stay at my desk. If I had to work on a weekend, I was going to do it on the sand.
“I’m so glad you booked that gig. Any news on your applications?” Nikki asked.
“Me too.” It was a one-time project, but at least it would cover a month’s worth of bills—handy, given that I’d spent a chunk of my savings on Inang’s meds despite her arguments. “No updates on the first job I interviewed with. For the other, I’m still waiting on that stupid document.”
If Alonzo actually pulled through for me. The photo he’d sent looked real enough and there was a tracking number, but?—
Nikki drilled her finger into my bicep. “Don’t tell me you still don’t believe him. He sent proof without you asking. It’s like he knows you or something.”
“I’ll believe it when I have the paper in my hands.” I brushed her finger off.
“You’re such a cynic. Seriously, Cam. Lonzo didn’t have to do it, especially after you went off on him just for asking a couple of questions. Of course he’s going to be curious. You never told him you studied at his school, and then you ask him to get paperwork for you. I’d ask questions too.”
“That’s different because you’re my friend. This guy’s a stranger.”
“A stranger you stayed next door to and made out with on the street.” She shook her head. “You couldn’t even wait until you got home.”
“First off, it was one night. And it was a good thing we didn’t make it to the house.”
Her eyebrows flew up. She nodded gravely. “Right. You wouldn’t have been able to stop if you were at home, huh?”
“That wasn’t what I meant.” I pinched her side.
She yelped and barked out a laugh. “I totally understand. He’s a hottie.”
“I hate you.”
“You could never.”
True. “I kind of wish I didn’t ask him to get it,” I admitted. “Because if he actually did, I’ll owe him.”
“I highly doubt he’s keeping track of that.”
“I am.”
