Page 27 of Room 1212

But tomorrow, I knew things had to change.

14

Drew

“Anotherday,anotherdollar,”I announced to my empty apartment as I walked in, kicking the door shut behind me.

Today had been a particularly hard shift. Kristoph’s health had been going downhill recently, and we’d had to transfer him to the hospital this afternoon. He likely wouldn’t be coming back. It was a fairly common occurrence in the industry where I worked. I loved making the seniors’ final years the best they could be, but that didn’t make saying goodbye any easier. I’d go visit him at the hospital this week, bring him a care basket from his friends at the retirement center.

I dropped my bag on the floor and just stood in the entryway for a minute. This was the same apartment I’d been living in for the past five years, but it didn’t feel like home anymore. Not without Jordan in it. I thought about him on the other side of town, and I wondered if I’d left a piece of myself there with him.

Kicking off my shoes, I headed to the kitchen and grabbed a container of leftovers out of the fridge. I didn’t even bother heating it up, just grabbed a fork from the drawer and wandered into the living room. I dropped onto the couch and propped my feet up.

“Let’s see what we’ve got…” I mumbled to myself, turning the TV on.

I’d never been someone who talked to themselves, but for two months, I’d gotten used to having Jordan around all the time. And now he was just gone. This emptiness in my life wasn’t new, I’d been single before, but this felt sharper somehow. Like, you forgot you had a papercut then got lemon juice in it.

Being single sucked, but being without Jordan was infinitely worse.

I’d always known it would end. He’d been straight with me that he wasn’t looking for anything serious. And I didn’t regret it, not even a little. Being with Jordan was like standing too close to the sun. Even as I enjoyed basking in his warmth, there was never a doubt I was going to come out of it with a burn. And no amount of aloe gel would ease this pain.

Still. Even with the pain, it was worth it.

Finding nothing on the TV, I turned it off and tossed the remote to the side. This was more than just boredom. This was heartbreak.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, confused. Nobody ever called me. Maybe it was work and I forgot to do something before I left. Except when I saw the screen, I froze. It was Jordan, and he wanted to video chat.

“Shit,” I muttered, panicking. “A video call?!” I looked like roadkill. I just got home from work, and I’d slept in this morning, so I hadn’t had time to shave.

Running a quick hand through my hair self-consciously, I hit accept. Jordan popped up on the screen, and of course, he looked radiant when compared to me. His face lit up when he saw me, and I forgot to worry about what I looked like. I smiled right back, and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

This. This was what I’d been missing.

“I did it! I finished the book!” he burst out before even saying hello. He was so excited, his camera was shaking in his hand.

I laughed at how adorable he was. “That’s great. Congratulations!” I told him. I wished I could be there with him, pull him into my arms and spin him around while he giggled.

His cheeks were flushed, and he couldn’t seem to stand still. I caught glimpses of each room behind him as he paced through his apartment. “I normally crack open a bottle of champagne when I finish a manuscript, but it just didn’t seem right for this book, you know? Like, I’m doing everything different this time, so that should be too. And I figured you should be a part of the celebration, since I couldn’t have done it without you. So… grab yourself a beer and raise your drink in a toast.”

I pushed myself off the couch, heading for the fridge. “Sorry, no beer. Is flat diet soda okay?”

He made a face. “Ew. Well, I guess it’s better than water.” That was debatable.

I poured some into a glass then held it up where he could see it on camera. “What did you want to toast to?” I asked.

“To you, of course,” he replied with a wink.

“To me?!” I sputtered, my cheeks warming. “But you’re the author. You did all the hard work. What did I do?”

He gave me my favorite cheeky smile, the one that made his dimple appear. “Are you kidding? You were my muse.”

I abandoned my drink on the counter and took the phone to the bedroom, lying down in bed. If I rolled on my side, with my phone propped on the pillow beside me, I could almost imagine Jordan was here with me. “You shouldn’t downplay how hard you worked on this. I’m really proud of you.”

He blew a raspberry at me. “Come on, Drew, just let me thank you for everything you did for me, okay?”

I smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you thanking me for having sex with you?”

He chuckled. “Well, yes, I guess I am, but it’s more than that. Even when you were giving it to me straight, being totally forthright, I never felt like you were judging me. So, I guess, thank you for your gentle honesty.”

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