Page 33 of Mr. Hook-up

I laughed as I read her signature introduction. “That was fast.” I saved her info in my phone. “Are you in Boston now? Maybe we could meet up today for a coffee or something.”

“I’m at the airport.”

I sighed. “Never in the same place at the same time.”

She was quiet for a moment, the background filled with a mix of chatter and gate announcements. “I want you to know, which I’ve already said to you before, but I never expected to find someone who makes me feel the way you do.”

“Honestly”—I shook my head, the truth hitting me hard—“no one is more shocked about that than me.” I gripped the edge of the bed, bearing all my weight on one arm. “Is everything all right? You’ve never sounded this way before, and we’ve talked enough for me to know the difference.”

“It’s nothing.”

“But if it’s something, you can talk to me about it.”

Silence filled the space between us until she eventually said, “How do you know you’re making the right decision when you’re faced with something huge?”

“Ah. A crossroads. Those are tough, and it’s impossible to know.” I moved the phone to my other ear and shifted my weight to my opposite arm. “I can tell you that not too long ago, I had to make a massive professional decision. A risk that was going to change my life. And not just mine, but my best friends’ as well. Do we follow the dreamand open the business? Do we dismiss the whole idea? What about the financial burden of it all? And everyone else who will be affected—our employees, our families, who we borrowed money from. God, it’s a lot, and decisions like that are fucking brutal.”

“Has it paid off?”

I wanted to tell her all the ways in which it had.

This phone conversation was one.

Instead, I replied, “It has so far, and in the long run, it’ll be greater than any of us dreamed.”

“How did you know it was the right move?”

I glanced out the window, remembering how many times over the last seven months I’d stared at the same lone erect tree outside our building, searching for an answer. “Your gut will tell you. Listen to it.”

“It’s shouting at me.”

I smiled. “Then it has a lot to say. Keep listening.”

She turned quiet again for several counts. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You’re wrong.” There was movement, almost like she was turning breathless. “You became more than just a man who wants to get me naked. You showed me trust is possible, and you know I’ve never had that before.” Another breath hit the phone. “But now, I have to go.”

“We’ll talk soon.”

“Bye.”

I tucked my phone into my pocket and returned to the living room, where I took a seat on the couch. Since this had become my office, my laptop was already in front of me, and I logged on to the database, searching for Love’s profile. She had signed up exactly thirty days ago. At midnight last night, the system would have sent her an email, asking if she wanted to move from a thirty-day trial membership to a subscription. If she made the switch, she would have to provide her name, address, and payment information—things we only collected from paying users. If she ignored the email and didn’t sign up for thesubscription or if she canceled her trial, her status in the database would turn from active to idle.

I was just clicking on her username when the change happened.

Idle.

The cancellation request appeared on her account then, her username locked until she returned—if ever—to Hooked.

She’d warned me that she was going to quit. I wasn’t surprised, but I was something else—something I couldn’t place aside from the emptiness that was gnawing a bigger hole.

I had her phone number.

I had the ability to reach out whenever I wanted.

Nothing was going to change between us.

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