Page 58 of Faker
“Fine,” I finally concede. “I can meet you at that ice cream shop in Dundee after work.”
“I’ll pick you up. You shouldn’t have to drive after what you’ve been through.”
I’m too exhausted to fight him, so I agree and give him my address. We hang up, my head spinning.
•••
“ARE YOU OKAY?”Jamie asks while seated next to me on a bench outside of the eCreamery Ice Cream. I assume my phony smile is not convincing.
“I’m fine. Like I said on the phone, still very sore.”
I finish the last of my vegan chocolate ice cream and toss the container in a nearby trash can. This past half hour with Jamie has been an awkward mess. Awkward side hug when he picked me up, awkward small talk in the car, sitting in awkward silence while eating our ice cream. I check my phone. Still no message from Tate. I text him that I’m meeting with Jamie for the charity homebuilding project, but that I’ll be free afterward if he’s up for another cuddle session at my place. I want him to know he’s on my mind. I wonder if I’m on his.
“What ideas did you have?” I ask.
The half smile Jamie shoots me has lost its intriguing luster. The guy who set my pulse on fire when we first met doesn’t even register on my internal Richter scale. Whatever chemistry we had has fizzled.
He takes a bite of his raspberry sorbet. “What’s the deal with Tate?” he asks, ignoring my question.
“What do you mean?”
“Is he into you or something?”
“I thought you wanted to discuss promoting our homebuilding project.”
“I’m having a hard time getting a read on him.”
Now I’m annoyed. That’s twice he’s ignored my questions.
I pin him with what I hope is a stern stare. “Look, I appreciate the teddy bear and ice cream, but I thought we were meeting to talk about work, not Tate.”
He frowns. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I just wanted to know what I was up against.”
“Up against?”
With a flick of his wrist, his empty ice cream container lands in the nearby trash can. “Well, yeah. I thought that we... that you and I were—”
“Friends,” I finish for him. “I’m sorry if you thought it was more, but honestly, all I want right now is a friend.”
The letdown is hardly kind, but I’m not interested in kind. Jamie dragged me out here under the guise of work talk when all he really wanted to do was eliminate Tate as dating competition.
“A friend,” he repeats with a raised brow. He scoffs, then smiles. It doesn’t look happy though, more like regretful. “Well, then. Let me take you back home, friend.”
When we return to my place, I start to let myself out of the car, but he insists on opening it for me. He gestures to the porch, but I stop at the giant birch tree in the front yard. He stands on the pavement below me.
“Thank you again for the ice cream and the stuffed bear.” I cross my arms. “We’ll have to figure out another time that Tate, me, and you can chat.”
He sighs. “Sure. Have a good night.” He leans in to kiss my cheek, but I jerk my head to the side and end up bumping my head into a low-hanging tree branch. His wet lips land on my ear. He backs away into the street, a disoriented look on his face. The whole scene is a mess and a half.
“Sorry, I— Friends can kiss on the cheek, right?” he stutters.
I wipe my hand along the side of my face. “I don’t.”
“Uh, good night, then.” He gives me a limp wave before climbing into his car and driving off.
When I look up, the streetlight at the corner of my block catches my eye, but not because of the glow it casts on the darkened street. Because it perfectly highlights Tate’s silhouette as he walks over to me.
My breath comes out in a rough blow. Now we’re both standing on my lawn in the dark.
