Page 41 of Not Another Yesterday
“No plans. Want me to meet you at your apartment when you get home?”
“Yeah. I want to see you badly.” I feel Miranda’s eyes on me. “Can you stay the night?” I ask Cat. I need to spend some uninterrupted time with her.
“I can,” she says with a smile in her voice. “Did you know our families will be spending Christmas Eve together?”
“Nope,” I say with a chuckle. “Good to know, I guess. Ilovespending time with your dad.” Try as I might, Cat’s dad isn’t particularly fond of me. I’m not totally sure why. I don’t think I’ve ever given him a reason to dislike me, other than the fact that I have sex with his daughter, which I hope isn’t something he actively thinks about. That would be… weird. But maybe it’s just a dad-thing rather than a me-thing. No idea.
“Oh, yeah, I know. You and him are basically best buds,” Cat giggles.
“Might just have to ask him to move into the apartment with Shane and me,” I say, making Cat giggle more. I fucking love the sound of her laugh.
“I’d love to see my dad’s reaction to that question.”
“Me, too,” I say. “How was your day?”
Silence follows. “Uneventful,” Cat says. My brow creases. That pause didn’t feel natural. Something’s up. I’ve always been good at picking up on these things, thanks to my mother’s volatility. But before I can overanalyze the one-breath-too-long pause, Cat continues. “I picked up a birthday present for Zack and Vada. And my mom’s inChristmas prep mode, so I’ve been trying to help her—and distract myself from missing you so much.”
My heart gives a jolt and I close my eyes. “I miss you, baby.”
“Really?” she asks like she doesn’t quite believe me.
I blink at her question. “Yeah.”
It takes a second for Cat to respond. “I miss you more,” she finally says, a tone of sadness, or maybe it’s disappointment, tingeing her words.
“Baby, is everything okay?” I ask, very aware of Miranda’s gaze on me.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says quickly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I just really, really want you home.”
“I’ll text you as soon as I get on the road in the morning.”
She sighs. “Okay. Mind if I call you while you’re driving?”
“Of course not. Nothing better than your voice. I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too, sweet boy. I’ll talk to you later.”
“She’s really lucky to have you,” Miranda says, sitting cross-legged on her bed when I hang up with Cat and toss my phone onto the pillow next to me.
“No.” I shake my head and pick my sandwich back up. “I’m lucky to have her. She’s honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
“I can tell.” Miranda gives me a vigorous head nod. “I can actually see your whole body relax when you talk to her. I could always tell how much she means to you. Just by the way your eyes light up, the way your face softens when you talk about her. I’m so glad you have something this good in your life, Rony. You deserve it,” she says, her voice soft and warm.
“You’d deserve something this good, too.”
Miranda smiles but doesn’t look at me. “Yeah, I’d love to have something this good, but I don’t think it’s meant for me.” Her eyeslock on her dinner plate. Before I have an opportunity to contradict her, she says, “What time does my flight leave again?”
“Uh, 5:05 tomorrow morning,” I say, pulling up her flight info on my phone.
“So, we should be at the airport no later than maybe four, huh?”
I nod. “Yeah, probably. Just to give you time to check in an all that stuff.”
“So maybe no crazy partying until the early morning hours, then?” she says jokingly.
