Comfortable silence filled the phone and I closed my eyes while lying in bed. It felt different this time, laying here alone with Melanie on the phone. Even though I was the only one in my bed, it didn’t feel like it. It felt like her spirit was here with me as I prepared my body for sleep.
“Jack.”
“Melanie.”
“I don’t want to hang up.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I’m falling asleep.”
Her voice seemed more bogged down from when we first started talking. When I looked at the time, almost two hours had passed and I needed to be up in four hours. I closed my eyes, listening to the soft breathing coming from the other end of the phone and I made sure to match mine to hers.
“You can always fall asleep with me, Melanie.”
Eight
Shit.What happened.
The light shined in from a slit in the window and I rolled over, grabbing for my phone. My eyes peaked open, seeing it was already eight in the morning.
“Shit!” I was already late to work.
After throwing on a pair of slacks and a button up, I grabbed for my phone and ran to the living room. I slipped on my untied shoes, planning to tie them when I actually made it to the office or maybe at a red light.
How had I overslept? I always had an alarm set.
Which I probably forgot to set last night.
Melanie.
We’d stayed up talking on the phone all night and then both went to bed, refusing to hang up, just like a couple of teenagers. I snatched up my wallet and keys from the coffee table and ran out the door. Max was probably pissed if he realized I was late but when I looked at my phone, I saw no missed messages from him. Just one text from Melanie.
Have a good day at work.
I smiled down at my phone, halting to a stop momentarily, staring at the words written on my screen. From the day at the cafe to now, our dynamic had changed for the best and I was all for it. However, I knew I’d have one more obstacle to face before I moved this forward more than I already had. I had to make Max see just how good this was going so far.
I sped to work, took the stairs two at a time to my floor, and snuck past a few cubicles. I thought I was in the clear when I opened my office door but that was until I turned on the light switch and saw Max, Greg, and Chase all sitting in my office.
“Fuck. What the hell are you all doing just sitting here in the dark?”
“I’d like to ask why you’re almost two hours late to work?” Max spoke up from my desk chair. He had his feet propped up on my desk and he leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest. The look on his face was less than pleased but there was something about the way that he was acting that had me thinking he already knew why I was late to work.
I think it had something to do with the text I received this morning.
“I was on the phone with Melanie. It got late and we both fell asleep on the phone together. I must not have forgotten to set my alarm, so I didn’t wake up until eight.” I stood tall as I answered Max honestly.
“That’s ballsy, dude.” Greg shook his head with wide eyes but Max and Chase seemed unfazed by my response.
“I saw that one coming from a mile away,” Chase spoke up next.
“How? She hasn’t even given him the time of day.”
“Because he’s Jack. He was going to get her to break sooner or later.”
“Trust me. After living with him for over half my life. He’s got no game.”
“She called him,” Max finally spoke up between my brother and Chase arguing. It didn't bother me what Chase said because it was true. If I was anything, it was persistent. I knew he didn’t mean it as me being a womanizer because out of everyone, Chase had been the one to try to set me up the most and I’d turned every single girl down.
