Page 28 of Head Over Wheels

He pulls away again. “Good night, Sweet Ella. I’m glad I decided to come check on you tonight.”

“I’m glad you did too. It was great to spend some time together, just us.”

He lightly taps the tip of my nose and places one last gentle kiss on my lips. “Okay, if I don’t get out of here now, I’m never leaving.”

“Go already.” I wave my hand towards the door, grinning.

I watch him leave and then fall back onto my bed hugging myself tight and thinking about all the great dreams I’m going to have tonight.

CHAPTER 21

It’s Sunday morning, and the sun is shining through my windows. In Montreal, that’s a sure sign that it’s cold outside. I’m glad I don’t have to go outside until later today. Last night is still a blur in my mind. It was such a rollercoaster of emotions, from the scene with Deb, to the misunderstanding at the club, and ending up kissing Jace goodnight. The happy sigh seeps out of me, and I know my grin is taking over my face. Although there’s no one here to see me, so I guess I can grin like a lunatic if I want to.

Snatches of conversation keep coming back to me. When Jace shared that he told Deb he was interested in me. And then when he was so sweet and protective about the stalker incident. The smile immediately drops from my face. Ugh, I’m so glad that is over and done with. For a few weeks after I blocked that user, I kept checking every class I was in to make sure they weren’t there. Even though none of it was happening in person it was still so creepy. I make an effort to shove that whole scary episode back into its compartment. I don’t want to waste any more time thinking about @greasemywheels today.

I’m glad I told Jace about my coffee date with Jeff this morning. It’s so much better that he knows and I don’t have to hide anything. I’m sure it will be fine. I’ll just tell him that I’m interested in someone else, and we can go back to being friends. And worst case, if it doesn’t go well, the weekend’s almost over and I’ll never see him again. Hopefully it’s all just super light and fun and I’m worrying about worst case scenarios for nothing.

First things first, I send Jess a quick update that things are back on with Jace and that I’ll tell her everything tonight when I’m back home in Ottawa. I need to hop in the shower and start getting ready. I’m not sure how much time there’ll be between the coffee and the luncheon, so I need to be ready for both. I pick up my phone and text Jeff to firm up the details for our meet-up.

Good morning!

Hey, good morning. Still up for our coffee date?

I wince when I see the word date come up on my phone. Is it better to just tell him now over text? That just feels like such a cold thing to do. I’m pretty sure it will be easier in person. Right?

Yes, for sure. What time were you thinking?

Great! How about 9am?

That doesn’t give me a lot of time, and I was hoping to get everything done in my room ahead of our meeting so that I didn’t have to come back and rush around before the last event. Lunch is at 11:30 a.m. so…

I don’t think I can be ready that early. I need to shower and pack. I’m leaving after lunch.

I’m biting my lip as I wait for his reply. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to brush him off.

Okay, so what time would work?

Would 10:30 be too late?

No, that’s great. I’ll meet you in the lobby then.

Super, see you soon.

I breathe out and shrug my shoulders to remove some of the tension. I’m not sure why I’m getting all stressed about this. I guess it’s because I hate to let anyone down and I have an inkling he’s going to be disappointed. Maybe I could get Tara or Lisa to join us for coffee? No, I’m being ridiculous. It’s just coffee, and we have forty-five minutes max. If it’s super awkward, I’ll just tell him that I didn't get everything packed and that I need to cut it short. Yeah, that’s a good back up plan. My phone buzzes again, and I pick it up reluctantly, worried that Jeff is changing the plan.

Morning sunshine! Hope you had a good sleep after I left. Looking forward to seeing you at lunch today.

A wide grin washes over my face. Before I reply, I read the text two or three times and let it sink in. Jace is texting me! Last night really did happen. It all feels a little surreal, and there was a small part of me that was secretly terrified that I had fallen asleep and just dreamt our conversation. But if he’s texting me this morning, it must be real. My cheeks hurt from the grinning.

Slept great, thanks. Looking forward to seeing you too.

I hope he can hear my happy tone through the text. Okay, I must put this phone down and start getting ready! Before I can do just that, another ping pulls my attention back to the text window. He hearted my text, which makes my stomach do a little swoop. Is there anything better than texting with your crush? This seems like the perfect time to really put the phone down and hop into the shower.

I decide to wash my hair since I’ve given myself lots of time. If I let it air dry it should be in beachy waves by the time I have to meet Jeff. Then it will look great for the luncheon too. And Jace. My lips hurt, they’re stretched so widely.

Using two fluffy white bath sheets, I twist my hair up in one and wrap the other around my body.

First, I add in my leave-in conditioner and then wrap my hair back up in the towel. I pick up my favourite moisturizer and gently massage it in. There are no classes today so I can wear makeup without worrying about the sweat factor. I add a bit of eyeshadow and highlighter, then do my brows, and finish off with mascara. I’ll add lip gloss right before I go down because otherwise it will be long gone by the time I meet Jeff.

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