Page 28 of The Awakening
I’m editing a chart filled with line items and their projected cost when my phone buzzes. I yawn, and it makes my eyes water as I look down at the screen.
[Why aren’t you sleeping?]
Smirking, I grab my phone and type out a response.
[Maybe I was? Until someone texted me and woke me up?]
The response comes quick.
[Should I stop?]
Now I bite my bottom lip, frowning.
[No…]
My phone rings, but it’s a video call and it’s like my phone has suddenly turned into a live explosive, the way it’s stressing me out. I pull my glasses off, rub my fingers against the inside corners of my eyes to make sure there isn’t any weird goop there and quickly run a hand through my hair. Shit. I wish I had time to wet it a little.
“Hey,” I answer. I look like I haven’t slept in days, and the lighting is yellow and dull from the desk lamp in front of me, but everything else around me is drenched in shadows. Not exactly the makings of a sexy late-night call.
Of course, Jun looks flawless. He’s outside on a balcony of some sort and the sky is bright blue and partly cloudy behind him. “You’re sitting at your desk and fully dressed. Clearly, I didn’t wake you?” He cocks one eyebrow up, and his black eyes are shining and playful.
“I saidmaybe. I thought you’d be at the airport by now?” He told me he was planning to fly back tomorrow. He’s currently in Prague.
“I got a last-minute request,” he says. “So I had to delay my flight a couple days. When’s the last time you had a good night of sleep, Jae? You’re up every night.”
Rubbing my palms against my face, I inhale and exhale a breath. My gut has been on a rampage now for weeks, and I have no clue what to make of it. “I can’t remember, but I sleep sometimes. I’m alright—don’t worry.”
“If you need help with the proposal, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Are you worried about budget planning? Remember, you don’t need to have everything perfectly figured out. Just estimates, and I can help with that as well.”
“It’s not that. I’ve got it, I promise.” Dropping my hands, I look into the screen and smile. I know it’s a weak attempt, but I give it my best effort. It’s nice that he’s concerned, but I’m really okay. I always manage.
There’s a soft moment of silence where we’re just looking at each other and he’s not saying anything. His face is serious. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself, Jae.”
The words hang in the air between us, but the impact is like a punch to my gut. Which is the last thing my gut needs—further agitation. I take a breath and swallow, but it goes down like cotton is stuck in my throat. It’s too much and I’m too tired. I shake my head. “I’m fine, Jun. But thanks.”
He stands, moving the camera as he goes. “It’s just a feeling I get from you—like you think you’re an island. But I’m here if you need me.”
“Okay…” Definitely not going there.
He fumbles with the camera as he moves. “Look at this.” The screen flips to the other side, and now I’m looking at an aerial view of Prague. It’s like something out of a Shakespearean play: rolling hills backed against a blue sky and white, fluffy clouds hanging listless over red-brown rooftops. There are towers with pointed corners, a wide, glassy river and a series of stone bridges as far as I can see. I’ve never been to Prague, but this scene is stunning and makes me wish I was there with him.
“Wow. It’s beautiful!”
“You’rebeautiful,” he says, flipping the camera back to his face and the sly grin on his lips. I rub my hand against my forehead. Every time he says this to me, it throws me. Like I was riding along okay on my bike, but then he sticks a metal bar in the spokes and I go flying over the handlebars. I never know how to respond, except to tell him he’s insane. But that’s obviously not very nice.
“You dislike it when I tell you this?” he asks.
“It’s not that I dislike it… I—I’m just not accustomed to it. So it catches me off guard. Actually… my mother would say that to me a lot, right before she died. So I… I don’t know.” Add to this, a model-esque first-generation vampire is saying it to me. Should he have his eyes checked? I thought they had amazingly sharp vision.
“Your mother was right. I don’t know much about her, but from that, I at least know she was a smart woman.”
This makes me smile. “Thanks.”
“I have a meeting soon, but I wanted to let you know my plans were delayed. Try to sleep?”
“I will. Good luck with your meeting.” We end the video call, and I’m staring at the screen, my mind fuzzy, gut twisty, but my heart warm. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing with this posh vampire, but… it’s nice. However long I’m on this ride for, I’d like to enjoy it. I’m going to.
I should go to bed. I should try, and I told Jun I would. But I really want to finish this section of line-item estimates. I’m so close to completing the proposal. Once I get it submitted and approved, the real work begins, and Iwantthat. If I have to lose a few nights of sleep to bring it along faster, so be it.
