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“Forget it,” was all he wrote back.

“No. I’m not going to just forget it. Some of the stuff you said is really hurtful.” I waited for him to respond. When a few minutes went by with no response, I sent another message. “Mason?” I waited a little longer. Still nothing. “Talk to me, Mason. Don’t just blow me off.”

There was still no response from him. I sighed, closed my eyes, and leaned my head back on the sofa. Suddenly my eyes flew open. You know what? Screw him. Just because he was going to throw stuff out there, didn’t mean I had to just sit idly by and take it. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a soda before sitting down to write my response.

“Mason—I’m not sure what tonight was about. I’m just going to tell you I’m not looking for any kind of a relationship, friend or otherwise, that involves one-sided conversations, accusations, or a lack of honesty or respect. I feel like the way this went tonight is just evidence of why we shouldn’t meet in person. We seem to have very different understandings and expectations about what this is between us. That’s not a good basis to start the next phase of anything. – Anna.”

I reread my message a few times before sending it. I sipped my soda and tried to turn the show I was watching back on, but I kept checking my phone for a response. Nothing. I didn’t really feel in the mood for watching TV anymore, so I decided to just get ready for bed.

I was brushing my teeth when I heard my phone ding with an incoming message. I raced into my bedroom and snatched it off the bed. I was nervous as I swiped the message open. It was from Bree. “Hey! It’s late and I’m all the way across town with Lisa and Vicki, so I’m just going to crash at their place tonight.”

“Sounds good! Thank you for letting me know and I’ll see you tomorrow.” After I sent the message back to her, I tossed my phone back down on the bed.

If I was being honest, after the events of the evening, I didn’t know if I was more disappointed or relieved the message wasn’t from Mason.

Chapter 12

Hello?

IT WAS SUNDAY EVENING and I was in a funk.

I hadn’t heard from Mason all weekend. Not since the weird exchange Friday night. It felt like I’d run through all of my emotions over the weekend.

First, I was hopeful he’d contact me and we could talk it out. Then, I was pissed when he didn’t. Which turned into sadness. That morphed into some kind of weird unhappy acceptance about the whole thing.

Liam had canceled our plans for dinner and a movie when his sister’s flight was delayed, which was fine by me. I was glad they got to spend some extra time together. Selfishly speaking, I’d spent the whole weekend hiding away in the apartment alternating between my bed and the sofa. The idea of actually going outside of my apartment seemed like way more than I wanted to do.

“Are you still feeling sad about the whole crazy Mason thing?” Sarah asked. We were sitting on my bed painting our toenails. She’d insisted freshly painted toes would somehow help me out of my mood. I didn’t really get the connection, but she was so adamant about it, I finally gave in.

“A little,” I admitted. “It is what it is. I said what I needed to say, and I think it’s pretty clear he’s not going to respond.”

“Something must’ve happened. Especially for him to get all jealous and possessive like that. You two aren’t in some type of a committed relationship or anything I don’t know about, are you?” Sarah asked as she applied a final coat of hot pink to her toes.

“No. We’ve never even met in person, and I would’ve told you if there was something like that.”

“Well, then tell me this…” Sarah paused to screw the lid back on the bottle of polish. “Why haven’t you told Liam anything about Mason?”

“I don’t really think it’s any of his business who I’m friends with,” I quickly fired back.

Sarah paused and raised an eyebrow. “So then, what’s going on with Liam?”

I sighed. That was a great question. “I don’t really know. I like him, but not as much as it feels like I should. I think we’re still just testing things out. I mean, I like spending time with him, just…”

Sarah started laughing. “Liam’s been friend-zoned.”

I paused painting my toenails as I thought about what she’d just said. “Maybe? I don’t know.” I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth for a moment while I continued to ponder what Sarah had said. I let out a heavy breath before I resumed speaking. “If I were to list out desirable qualities, Liam seems to have everything I could want. We’ve been friends for a while, but this whole dating thing between us is still new and there just…well, there just isn’t any spark.”

“I see,” Sarah said thoughtfully.

“When we kissed, it felt nice, but that was it. No fluttery feeling, no sparks, no lust, no desire to take things further. Everything with Liam is just…nice and comfortable. That’s it.”

“You want all of those flutters, sparks, and fire?” Sarah asked.

I nodded my head. “Yes, I do.” That was one thing I was certain about.

“Well, if you’ve given it a real shot with Liam and it is just not there, you need to tell him.”

I carefully screwed the lid back on the bottle of black polish before I flopped backwards onto my bed and let my head crash into the pillows. “That’s the thing… Have I given it a real shot with Liam? We’ve gone out a few times, but is that enough to know it’s not going to work? Maybe ‘spark’ is something that will come with time?”

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