Page 48 of Time Loops & Meet Cutes
“How did you know what she meant?” Dalton asks.
“You mentioned it the other day,” I say brightly, hoping to cover up my mistake.
“Oh, right. I probably did, but she’s had a few terrible nights of sleep, and sometimes my mind is like a sieve. Also…” He smiles. “Mona’s pregnant.”
I act appropriately surprised and delighted, and I try not to betray any fear that I’ll never meet Lenora’s sibling.
And when my niece scampers toward the kitchen, I grab her before she can hit her head.
Once again, I don’t introduce myself to Cam. I just sit at the bar with my beer and type out everything that I think will occur. And then I watch it happen.
I’m all ready for tomorrow.
OctoberCam
I pull my coat tighter around me as we stand in front of the restaurant after dinner. I wish I’d worn a warmer one.
“Look, Delphine.” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry, but I just—”
“I know, I know,” she says. “The vibes weren’t there.”
“Yeah.”
I’m not sure if she would have been that honest if I hadn’t gone first—some men don’t take rejection well, after all—but I’m glad to have it out in the open.
Keysha had insisted on setting me up with her friend. I took Delphine to a casual place, and there were lots of awkward silences, followed by us speaking at the same time.
This isn’t like me. I can usually keep conversation going easily with someone I just met, but the entire meal, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this waswrong, that I shouldn’t be on this date. I guess that’s why I was distracted and couldn’t make proper conversation.
Weird.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we smile at each other, and I walk her to the subway in the crisp autumn air. Once I’m alone in my empty apartment—Justin is at hisboyfriend’s—I spend an hour planning my upcoming trip to New York with another friend.
But no matter what I do, I still can’t rid myself of that odd feeling. Something is off, but I have no idea what.
Well, hopefully, whatever it is, it’ll be gone by morning.
18Noelle
June 20, Version 112-ish
“Hey,” Cam says with a smile. “Have we met before? You look really, really familiar, but I can’t recall your name.”
“We have,” I say. “Cam, right? Short for Canmore?”
A notch appears between his brows. “And you are?”
“Noelle.”
“What would you like to drink, Noelle?” He gestures to the tap list.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know much about beer.”
“Hm.” He gives me a sample. “Try this.”
I do. As expected, it’s the hefeweizen.
“I’ll get a pint,” I say.
