Page 16 of Always. Forever.

“So how was your lunch with Toni?”

“It was nice, thank you. It’s always good to catch up with her. I miss her a lot. You know what it’s like being an adult now with responsibilities, we don’t always get to see each other.”

He nods along.

“How was your date? You, of course, don’t have to tell me,” I rush out. I don’t want him thinking I’m being nosey. I so am, but I don’t want him thinking that.

He chuckles. “It went well . . . I think. She seemed really nice, easy to talk with and really interesting. She wants to meet up again, so that’s a good sign, right?”

It makes me smile that he’s asking me for advice and trusts me enough to speak about this.

“Of course it is. She would be crazy to not want to meet up with you again.”

His smile drops, and he glimpses at me, then at the road and then at me again.What did I say wrong?

“Wha-what, really, you think that?” He tilts his head.

“Erm, yes, you’re a great person, James,” I say, not knowing if I have said something wrong.

His face lights up as if he just won the lottery. He nods to himself, and I’m sure I see him puff his chest out slightly. Okay . . . maybe he needed a little confidence boost. Everyone needs them sometimes.

We drive the rest of the journey in silence, although there is a slight awkwardness in the air.

We pull up to mine and Jace’s apartment. I grab my bag and turn to James, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Thank you so much for driving me home, James. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, Rylee, I couldn’t see you getting an Uber.”

I give him a smile and step out of the car.

“See you later, James,” I say as I gently close his car door. I walk up the path and key in the code to enter the building. As I walk in and turn around to close the glass doors, I realize he is still sitting in the car watching me . . . with a huge smile on his face. I give him another wave in the hopes this will send him on his way. He returns my wave but doesn’t move. I head up to my apartment, and once I’m inside, I tiptoe to the window and peek through a crack in the blinds. He has now gone.Okay, Toni may be right, a little creepy.

Chapter Six

Iopenmyeyesto darkness and am a bit disorientated, then realize I’m lying on our sofa. I must have fallen asleep.God, what time is it?I hunt around for my phone, which I find on the floor next to the sofa. I light up the screen, squinting at the brightness, and see it’s 7:00 p.m.

“Fuck,” I mutter while rubbing my eyes. I then see a text from Jace.

Jace:Hey beautiful, I’m heading to the pub with Rowan after work so I’ll be home a bit later. Don’t worry about making me any food, I’ll get something at the pub.

That was only sent half hour ago, so I type out a text back.

Me:Okay babe, have a good night and be safe. Xo

Rowan is Jace’s best friend, they have been best friends since they were kids. They are workaholics, so they don’t get to see each other as much as they would like. Rowan does sometimes pop around if he’s in the area. He is a contractor and sometimes has work sites around here. I have gotten along with him since the first time I met him. Well, second. However, the first time, I don’t remember much. He was with Jace that night at Freedom. Apparently, we talked when we were at the tables, but it’s pretty much a blank night for me.

As it’s just me tonight, so I think I will binge eat some junk food and stick a film on from Netflix. I’m still full from our brunch earlier and don’t fancy a dinner. I walk over to the cupboard, grabbing a big bag of chips and some chocolate out of the fridge, because chocolate belongs in the fridge. I put chips in a big bowl and walk over to the couch, placing the chips and chocolate on the coffee table.

I can’t sit and get comfy in my clothes, I have to be in pj’s. I head to my bedroom to go put some on with an added spring in my step when I think about my night. I love being with Jace but a night on your own to eat what you want and watch what you want is underrated. Once I have my comfiest and most unflattering pj’s on, I walk out of my bedroom and head to the sofa to turn the TV on.

I flop myself down on the sofa and pull the blanket over my legs to get myself comfy. I flick through Netflix but can’t find anything that screams “watch me.” So I flick through Amazon Prime to see if there are any good films but, again, I find nothing. I then remember a film I watched a few months back calledThe In Betweenon Netflix, it was one of the most emotional films I have ever watched and because I’m a masochist and love torturing myself, I’m going to watch it again.

I load it up and my eyes fill with tears just looking at the cover of the film. The film is about a girl who meets a guy at a cinema. They are the only two people watching the film, but the girl doesn’t realize the film is in Italian, and the boy—very cute, might I add—sits next to her and offers to translate the film. It’s very romantic and super sweet. They leave after without exchanging numbers or anything. She crosses paths with him again and it goes from there. Something traumatizing happens and he passes away, and it is gut-wrenching, but he tries to communicate with her from the other side, and they meet in this place called “the in between.”

It is emotional, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I ugly cried that hard. Jace was doing some work for his dad at the time in his study, and when he came out, he thought someone in my family had died. I could barely breathe.

So, here we are. Ready to do this all over again. I honestly have no idea why I do this to myself. A glass of wine might help.

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