Page 80 of Dare Me

She answered on the first ring.

“Hey,” she said sleepily. “Are you okay? Liam told me you had to go out of town, but…he didn’t say why.”

“Hey,” he said, equally tired. “I’m sorry about that. I texted you when I got on the plane this morning and I never hit send. I blame it on being delirious. I overslept and almost missed my flight.”

“Where are you?”

Will explained all about the call from his aunt and the rush to find a flight so he could get it taken care of quickly. “I was able to get it all handled, but I couldn’t get a flight home until Wednesday.”

“Oh.” She paused. “I’m glad you could take care of it. I can’t believe you had to fly across the country for it though.”

“Yeah, well…Aunt Maryann’s in her eighties. She wouldn’t know what to do with all the damaged stuff and the management would not help her go through it. I’m glad I could get here and do it myself.”

“Okay.”

They were both silent and he knew they had a lot to talk about, but…

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out.

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I shouldn’t have brought up that stuff about the plane and all that. It wasn’t helpful and it was wrong of me, so I’m sorry.”

It was crazy how much it meant to him that she apologized first, but that didn’t put him completely off the hook. “I’m sorry too.”

“You don’t have…”

“Yes, I do,” he corrected. “I should have handled things differently back then, and when I get back, we’ll do this your way. If you say we need to wait, we’ll wait. I trust you.”

“Oh, Will…you have no idea how much that means to me.”

“It’s true. I love the silly side of you. I love the way you embrace life and every situation you face. But I also love your intelligence and your ability to assess situations and figure out the best way to handle them. I shouldn’t have left the way I did last night.”

“I wish you would have called me to let me know what was going on. I hated thinking that you weren’t talking to me.”

“I know. Last night I was still…well…I was still being stubborn and was frustrated with the whole situation. Then my aunt called and it seemed like the perfect excuse to get away for a few days and give us each time to cool down.”

“I get that, but…I miss you. I wish you were here with me right now. Turns out it doesn’t matter if I have a bed instead of sleeping on the couch. I only sleep well when I’m with you.”

He smiled because he felt the same way. “Me too, beautiful girl. And I miss you too.”

“Are you sure you can’t get home before Wednesday?”

“Yeah, believe me, I looked. I figured I’d spend a little more time with my aunt tomorrow and then maybe do some shopping in San Francisco. You know…maybe grab some chocolate or something.”

“Oh. My.Goodness!Would you really go to Ghirardelli without me?” she said with a laugh.

“I thought it might help with the apology if I came home with candy.”

“I just want you, Will. As long as you come home to me, that’s all I need.”

“My flight lands at eight on Wednesday night and then it’s an hour drive, so…maybe we can have a late dinner together?”

“That sounds nice.” She paused. “And where did we land on the chocolate?”

“Well, you said you didn’t need it, so I guess I can just relax and maybe lounge by the hotel pool instead.”

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm…or…truth or dare?”

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