Page 211 of Now and Forever

With that in mind, I got up and went to the nearest corner that was packed with couples making out or trying to get to second base. Ignoring the romantic humdrum behind me, I pulled my phone out of my purse.

“Serena!” Nessa hollered at me from a few feet away. “Dance with me. I need a partner.”

“In a little bit. Let me just call someone really quickly, then I’ll be right with you, promise,” I pled, and she signaled a thumbs up then blew me a kiss.

Back to my dilemma, I took a lengthy breath. “Get over it, Serena. You’re being obnoxious. Stop it,” I muttered under my breath as I looked down at the handheld device.

With my phone in hand, I scrolled for Cruz’s name, feeling wretched for even considering this idea, yet I felt dizzy at the thought of hearing his voice after a week of no news from him. My withdrawals were real, but not severe. Even so, none of it was healthy.

Holding my breath as I pressed the call button, I was half hoping he would pick up and half hoping he would send the call to voicemail or still be out of the country. When I heard his voice on the other end of the phone, though, my heart skyrocketed into blissful oblivion.

“Yes?” His raspy, deep-timbered voice temporarily suspended me from reality. Then, as quickly as it came, I was reverted back to my senses.

Shaking my head, I wondered who answered a phone call with a yes. A normal person would usually say hello, not yes. It was arrogant and a bit entitled. Little bits like these made me nervous when it came to him. It only reminded me of the vast difference between us.

“Hey, it’s Serena,” I said meekly but loud enough for him to hear.

“Serena?” He didn’t sound pleased. “Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour?”

Maybe I had caught him at a bad time. Well, there was no good time past midnight when one was calling for a favor. Damn it. I probably should just apologize and hang up for bothering him. It would be the politest thing to do.

“What is that sound in the background?” He sounded appalled.

Your worst nightmare, I wanted to retort back, but I successfully refrained from it. Instead, I decided to play nice.

“It’s called the “Macarena,” A blast from the past, 90s style.”

“It’s the what?”

“Have you been living in a cave? ’Cause I’m pretty sure everyone’s heard this song.”

There was something about his tone that rubbed me the wrong way. I felt as though he was judging me for some reason.

“I sure as hell haven’t, so no, I doubt everyone has heard of it.”

I couldn’t believe it. We were actually arguing about the fucking “Macarena” song. Why did he have to be so infuriating?

“I get that you’re mister high and mighty, but please, just for once—just this one time—could you please take the stick out of your royal ass?”

“I beg your pardon? First of all, I am not royalty. Secondly, I never had a stick up my arse, not now, not ever, not even in the near bloody future—”

Okay, I got that loud and crystal clear.

“Fine. Okay, whatever.” This whole conversation had started on the wrong footing. How it got here, I had no idea. As much as I would have liked to bury this entire conversation, he apparently wasn’t done.

“Did you insinuate that because of what happened that night?” he confronted, possibly wanting to open the can of worms once again.

Oh, no. I could talk and argue about anything: conspiracy theories about NASA covering up alien life, the inhumane ritual killing of hundreds of whales in the Faroe Islands, the child bride practices in other cultures, the thriving narcissistic culture through social media, why Kylie Jenner’s lips garnered more attention than ISIS in our society’s younger generation—heck, anything, anything at all. But never about that night. I just couldn’t.

“Listen, I’m sorry I called at this late hour. Just scratch everything I said. It was a mistake calling you tonight.”

“Were you drunk dialing and mistakenly called me?”

Drunk dialing? I wasn’t that kind of woman. What the hell? I was a fun drunk, not some emotional train wreck.

“No, but if I was, I’d rather call 1-800-MASTURLINE.”

WTF? Did I just say that out loud?

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