Page 101 of You Chive Me Crazy
“Tomorrow,” Lucas said. “Close of business.”
“Well then, you’ve got twenty-four hours to consider everything,” I said, already feeling the pressure of the ticking clock. “It seems like a no-brainer. Your dream job is sitting right in front of you, waiting for you to take it. You’d be foolish to let the opportunity pass you by.”
I don’t know whether I was trying to convince him or myself, but with every word out of my mouth, my heart was breaking more and more. Shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. I wanted him to stay so badly it hurt, but I’d never forgive myself for asking him to choose me.
“We’re both going to be so busy with our new careers. This is probably the best right now,” I continued. “Rolando said things always happen for a reason, right? Well, if this was meant to be, we’ll be together in the end. That’s what serendipity is, and we have to believe it.”
“Yeah . . .” He sounded disappointed. “Well, you seem to see things with more clarity than me, but it’s not a straightforward decision.”
No. It wasn’t.
And his decision would affect both of us.
One thing was for sure . . .
The next twenty-four hours were going to be torture.
ChapterTwenty-Three
LUCAS
I tossed and turned all night, trying to come up with an answer that made the most sense, changing my mind a thousand times. How could a long-distance relationship work when I already missed Zoe after just thirty-six hours apart?
Grabbing my phone, I called Rolando. He knew about the offer I received from Jeremy since we texted back and forth last night. Maybe this was one of those circumstances where a phone conversation with the most positive person I know might serve me well.
“Hey man, what's going on?” Rolando answered on the first ring.
“It’s a cruel, cruel world, that’s what’s going on.”
“I guess that means you haven’t decided yet.”
“Correct.” I took a seat in my home office and spun around in my chair to glance at the framedDevour Americamagazine covers on my wall. “Zoe told me to take the job. She told me it was a golden opportunity I shouldn’t pass up, and that maybe we would be too busy for a relationship, anyway. It surprised me.”
Rolando chuckled. “Well, take her words with a grain of salt. What she says and what she’s actually thinking can be two completely different things.”
“Maybe she doesn’t feel the same way I feel,” I said.
“And maybe you’ve lost your marbles,” he said. “Do some of those breathing exercises you do, to help you relax.”
“A lobotomy is more inline with what I need at the moment, and a more efficient choice,” I said. “I guess it just bugs me she was pushing me so hard to take the job. It doesn’t feel right.”
“You can always take the job in New York, then quit if you can’t handle the long-distance thing.”
“No,” I said firmly. “I have way too much respect for Jeremy to even consider that, plus I don’t want to let the guy down. He believed in me enough to offer me the job.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Rolando said. “Only you can decide. You just need to be bold enough to go for it.”
“That’s easy for you to say, Mr. Positive,” I said. “Everything always seems to work out for you.”
“Because I believe it will,” Rolando said matter-of-factly. “I believe in fate, destiny, serendipity, the whole shebang! Good things will come my way. I know that if I thought I was going to fail, I would! Thoughts become things, my man! You know that! Believe and you will achieve!”
“You sound like a motivational speaker,” I joked. “Should I be paying you for this workshop?”
“I accept Visa, MasterCard, Venmo, and PayPal,” he said, chuckling. “Seriously. Close your eyes, do that breathing thing you do, and visualize what you want. See yourself in that situation in your mind. Picture yourself happy.Feelyourself happy. Believe it will happen! Heck, you can even create your own mantra that you repeat in your head. ‘All good things come my way.’”
“Do I need to tap my heels together three times while I’m saying it?” I asked.
“If that feels good to you, then yes!” Rolando said. “Just do it! I need to run.”
