‘She’s cool.Different, y’know.Halle doesn’t give a fuck about the whole celebrity BS, which is great.She’s fine as hell, but smart too.Easy to talk to…’Jeez.I needed to calm down with the compliments before Roger got the wrong idea.‘Anyway, we agreed to keep it casual.I’ve got too much on my plate right now.And if she sticks around Wilma will wanna follow through on her stupid plan.’
‘What plan?’
Then I remembered that I hadn’t told Roger about it.Mainly because I knew he’d think it was batshit crazy, just like I did and didn’t want him to talk me out of it because it was the only way I could leave his place.
‘I guess it’s okay to tell you now.’ I scrubbed the back of my neck before explaining.
‘Jesus, man.That’s got disaster written all over it!’ Roger sighed.‘Why the hell did you agree to that shit?’
‘What choice did I have?And even though I still don’t agree with it, and won’t be following through, I’ve had a really cool week.It’s been good to take my mind off things.’
‘You mean to meet a woman who’s helped you to take your mind off things?’ Even though I couldn’t see him, I could tell that he was smiling.
‘That too,’ I confessed.Now I was the one who was smiling.Memories of how amazing it felt to be inside Halle flashed into my mind.Then I thought about how kind she was when I told her about my situation.She didn’t judge.She just listened.
‘I’m happy for you, J.You deserve to find someone to make you happy.’
‘Hold your horses, buddy.I told you, it’s nothing serious.’
‘Uh-huh,’ he said, clearly not believing a word.‘Never say never.’
‘It won’t work.It can’t.’ For some weird reason my chest tightened.
‘Like I said, keep an open mind.’
‘How’s stuff with you?’ I asked.Not just because I wanted to change the subject, but also because I was genuinely interested.
‘All good.Work’s keeping me busy.’
Roger worked in IT.He was always the smartest one in class and he’d built a great career.I was proud of him.
‘Glad to hear it.’
‘I’d better go.Promised to go shopping with Cathy.’
‘I know how much youloveshopping!’ I joked.Roger had a wardrobe filled with multiple pairs of the same jeans and T-shirts.He had his style and he stuck to it.I doubted if he went shopping more than once every few years.
‘That’s what you do when you love someone.You do shit that you hate, just because you know it’ll makethemhappy.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’ I thought I was in love with my ex, but when it ended, I wasn’t so sure.At least Roger and Cathy’s love was real.
‘When it happens, you’ll know.Trust me.’
‘Enjoy your shopping trip,’ I said, deliberately not responding.
‘And enjoy your time with Halle.’ He chuckled softly, then hung up.
Even though I knew he was getting carried away with stupid ideas of me and Halle having some kind of relationship after this, he was right about two things.
One: I did like her.And two: I should enjoy my time with her.
Like I’d said, it’d never be anything serious, but if I only had one week left with her, I was gonna make damn sure that I made it count.
Starting right now.
36
HALLE
