Page 39 of Stay With Me
Jesus. I’m a mess.
Her most recent text was froman hour ago.
Noah
Morning, drunky. Hungover?
Instead of texting out a response, I send her a selfie with my middle finger.
Thank God Sundays are my days off because I’d be drinking more of the coffee than serving it.
Once I hit send, I look through my other messages and see Tripp’s name. We hardly ever text because he never responds anyway. And apparently, I sent him a message at two o’clock this morning.
Magnolia
Tripp Clark Hollis! Actually…I don’t think that’s your middle name. It starts with a C though, right? Chad? Chuck? Chattanooga? Well, whatever it is…I hate that chick. LYDIA?! Out of all the single women in town, you date her? Please tell me you aren’t taking her home. Your balls will shrivel up and die if she touches them. RIP Tripp Chattanooga Hollis’s balls.
Oh. My. God. I smack my forehead and pray for a quick death.
It’s not the first time I’ve drunk texted Tripp, but this is at the top of the most embarrassing things I’ve said to him. Now that I’m aware of how bad his anxiety still affects him, I feel even worse for acting completely out of pocket.
What’s even worse is Tripp responded at seven this morning when he was probably getting up for work.
Tripp
It’s Cameron.
Tripp Cameron!Shit, I knew that.
But what the fuck kind of response is that? He doesn’t even acknowledge the Lydia or balls comment or the fact that I wasdrunk off my ass. Tripp’s already hard to read in person, but over text, he comes off like a robot.
So if he’s not going to mention the elephant in the room, then I won’t either.
It’s hours later, and he’s probably still working, but I can’t help wanting to get any kind of response from him.
Magnolia
Hmm…Chattanooga has a better ring to it.
To my complete surprise, the jumping dots appear on the screen right away.
Tripp
I’ll make sure to edit my birth certificate right away.
And as per usual, I can’t tell if he’s being a sarcastic asshole or awkwardly flirty.
Magnolia
You should. Then we can name our firstborn son after your middle name and make his Tennessee.
Tripp
Chattanooga Tennessee, huh? That’s borderline child abuse.
My smile widens at how the mention of a child isn’t what he focused on but rather the name of said child.
Magnolia
