“I think I saw him leave. Let me just buzz him to make sure.” He pressed a button on the central intercom and when there was no response, he buzzed again.
“Hello.”
Jordan’s heart sank at the sound of the other woman’s voice.
“Oh, hi, Miss Parker,” Walt said. “Is Mister—”
“Forget it,” Jordan said quietly, already backing away. “It’s not important.”
She pushed the glass door open and walked out, taking shaky steps as she tried to keep herself together.
Well, that was hard. Her ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend was at his place while he wasn’t there. She didn’t even know what to make of that. Were they talking about getting back together? Were they already back together?
That didn’t make any sense considering Tyler had her pressed up against a door just yesterday. But her mind couldn’t think of one other reason to explain that situation. This was a lesson she needed to take heed of in the future. Don’t ever date a guy who just got out of a serious relationship. Chances are he never really got out.
A heart could only truly love one person at a time and even though he was obviously torn between two women, Tyler had never moved on from his first love.
Jordan adjusted the thick scarf around her neck and took a long stroll through the suburbs, trying to clear head. She was leaving to Montana in a few days to spend Christmas with her family and she would need a few days to pull herself towards herself. She didn’t want to be an emotional mess when she got home. Her brothers would be on the next flight to Seattle with a pair of shears.
She rounded the corner and saw Tyler leaning against the front door of his car. She halted for a split second, but then sucked up the fragments of pride she had left and headed towards her gate.
“Walt told me you came by,” he said from behind her.
She didn’t answer and walked down the pathway.
“It isn’t what you think, Jordan.”
“I’m past the point of caring,” she responded, reaching into her purse for her keys.
“Just let me explain.” He spoke a little louder as the distance between them grew wider. “I don’t understand why you won’t talk to me.”
She stopped and took a deep breath. It was time to put on her big girl panties and confront this head-on. He was already halfway up the path when she turned to face him.
“How do you feel about me, Tyler?”
He hadn’t been expecting that question. It completely threw him off. He froze. His shoulders tensed and he became a bit edgy. “You know how I feel about you.”
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t. You’ve never told me.”
He didn’t say anything. He just kept his eyes fixed on her, staring at her as if she could read his mind. She couldn’t.
“I seem to be in a bit of a predicament,” she said softly. “I was trying to avoid this, but now it’s here, so let me tell you the problem I have. I…” She took another deep breath and chewed her lower lip as she debated whether she should say it or not. Big girl panties, she told herself. “I’m in love with you…No games…No pretenses…I love you. That’s where I’m at…but you…you’re stuck on a step above fond…because you’re still hung up on your ex-girlfriend.”
He gritted his teeth and sneered. “That’s not true and you know it.”
“I don’t.” She slowly shook her head. “You’ve never told me.”
“Jordan, would I be out here, stalking you almost every day if I still had feelings for Trisha?”
He was doing it again. Answering with a question. He was growing more irritable, more nervous. She’d never seen him look so distressed before. She took a step towards him and he took a step back.
“Just tell me,” she said, her voice shaking with anxious expectation. “Tell me what’s really going on here. I need to know.”
One step forward.
One step back.
His breathing became heavier. He was panicked and she didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want to admit what he felt…or what he didn’t feel.
