Page 19 of Awakened
But they’re not you.
Uh, huh. Why are you up so late on a school night?
My phone vibrated, and a picture of Seth, shirtless, on his couch with a stack of papers was staring me right in the face.
Damn. And now I’m no better than Kayla Johnson.
Grading papers. I regret taking on this section of Intro to Ancient Rome. What about you?
Feeling buzzed and a bit mischievous, I took off my shirt, suggestively placed my spoon between my lips, and snapped a quick picture. Before I overthought it, I fired off the text.
As the minutes ticked by, I became more and more nervous. It had been a few years since our near-hookup, so there was a good chance he meant nothing by sending me a shirtless selfie.
At least I was still wearing my bra.
Groaning, I lamented just how not scandalous my picture was. My attempt to be sexy was so juvenile I had plausible deniability that it was all innocent. An actual adult would’ve been topless in a selfie geared toward enticing a man, wouldn’t they?
I drafted a text saying, “JK, lol. I’m drunk. Sorry if that was weird . . .” but Seth finally responded.
Damn. You’re perfect. Why are your jeans still on?
I choked out a startled laugh.He wants me out of my pants?
I stood at a crossroads. Should I give in to the flirty texting, or should I not respond and pretend this never happened?
Either way, I could destroy my friendship with Seth. I shivered and realized I was sitting at the counter, shirtless, with the window cracked open.
Suddenly, I was very sober and very embarrassed. Pulling my shirt on, I attempted to find a way out of the situation unscathed.
I guess I took too long to respond because the next thing I knew, my phone rang. A thrill passed through me, and I answered with what I hoped was a sultry voice, “That eager to get me out of my pants?”
“Who are you taking your pants off for?”
No, no, no.
That, kids, is why you always check the screen before answering.
“Uh, Aiden. Why are you calling?”
“No. Who were you expecting?”
“Oh, n-no one. Just a friend. What’s up?”
Heavy breathing punctuated the silence, and then the call ended. All I could do was panic.
Umm. I picked up the phone, thinking it was you, but it wasn’t. Call me if you’re alone.
My phone vibrated immediately. “Les, you okay?”
“Yes? He knows I was chatting with someone.”
There was a long pause.
“That’s not ideal. Should we just tell him? He can’t be mad over some harmless flirting, right?”
Oh. The pictures were just harmless flirting.
My self-esteem plummeted. Of course, it was all just jokes between friends. Our almost moment had been years ago. He had probably gotten over his little crush. Too bad I was stuck wishing Seth had been calling to finish what we started.
