Zach
I’m downstairs, come out when you’re ready.
With a smile, I exit my apartment and head down the stairs to his truck. He’s looking down at his phone, which is on the steering wheel, when I open the door and slide into the passenger seat.
“Hey!” I say breathlessly. I lean over for a kiss, but he’s still engrossed in his phone, so I peck his cheek. “I’m excited for tonight.”
“One sec.” He finishes typing a message, presses send, and puts his phone in the center console. He flashes me a grin, the one I always loved as a teenager.Yes. This is good. Remember these things.“Me, too.”
He puts the car in drive and pulls out of the parking lot.
“So, where are we headed? Magistra’s? Angie & Dan’s?” I list off a couple of the fancy restaurants nearby. When he doesn’t respond, I throw out a joking, “In-N-Out?”
He chuckles. “No. Not In-N-Out. But you’ll see when we get there.”
I settle back in my seat and look out the window, content with the idea of a surprise evening together. Memories flood my mind from when we were first dating. The fluttery feelings of knowing that he wanted to hang out with me and just me, hold my hand, have his arm around my waist…
I look back at him. We’re not even touching now. When did that change? I reach over, trying to grab his hand that’s on the shifter, but he puts it back on the steering wheel and looks over his left shoulder to change lanes.
Awkwardly, I take my hovering hand and put it back in my lap. We’ll have opportunities to hold hands later tonight. I’m sure of it.
“How was your day?” I ask him.
“Pretty good. I hit the gym in the morning, then the sauna. Came home and took a nap. Watched a little TV. How about you?”
“I’m off Fridays, so I just did my work from home. I had a bunch of calculus exams to grade in the morning, and then I prepped my lectures for next week. I worked on my online classes and graded their discussion topics. Pretty typical Friday.”
I also worked on my book, but I don’t tell Zach that. I’m almost done with the synopsis, so I took a chance with my relationship with Ryan and sent it over for his feedback. While I waited for his response, I did work for school.
I still haven’t heard back from Ryan.
He glances over at me with a grin. “Doesn’t sound like a fun Friday.”
I tilt my head. “I don’t know. I enjoy it. It doesn’t feel like work to me.”
“Just like my app.”
“Mm-hmm.” What I want to say is,No, it’s not just like your app. I actually get paid for this. And I worked today, but you didn’t.
Yikes. Where did that come from? Such a sudden, knee-jerk reaction to him bringing up his “work.” I didn’t think I was so bitter about it. Actually, I don’t know if I’ve even explored my opinion about his newest venture.
How DO I feel about the app?
I look out the window, not letting his nearness influence my thoughts. Zach has always had the potential to do great things. He’s charismatic, good-looking, and fun. At first meeting, everyone loves him. I’ve always thought he would be good at sales or marketing. But instead, he hasn’t had the drive or motivation to make something of himself.
Mike and Julie are incredible people, but I don’t think they’ve been the best at helping Zach find his own talents and skills. They’ve made it too easy for him.
And I’m about to make it even easier.
I push those thoughts out of my mind. Maybe it’s something we can talk about once we’re married.
Zach turns into a parking lot, and I take a look at our destination—the Canyon Vista Golf Club. “Are we…golfing?”
Zach laughs and shakes his head. “No.”
Thank goodness. I tried golfing once and it was a disaster. At this point, I’ll stick to mini golf, and even that is rough. You’d think a math professor would be good at golf, with the angles and all that, but my hand-eye coordination leaves much to be desired.
He pulls up to the valet station, and we get out of the truck. To my left, I swear I see Ryan’s silver Toyota parked in the lot. In fact… Yes, that’s Ryan’s license plate, too.
