But Rose didn’t even respond immediately, typing something in before she looked at me.
“Sorry, what?”
I knew my annoyance showed, but I hoped that I kept in check enough.
“Just wanted to know what sort of crazy animals you had to deal with.”
“Oh, yeah, just some aggressive dogs. One tried to bite me.”
“Damn!”
“Yeah.”
I waited for her to say more, but instead, she was just typing on her computer, as if I wasn’t even there. I could take the fact she was looking for a second job, even though it meant we’d get to hang out less and less.As if I’m entitled to that at this point.I could handle the fact she was a little distracted.
But to not even pay a little attention to me?
“Sorry, sorry, I just have to get this done.”
“I can come on Friday or Saturday,” I offered, but Rose took my hand and squeezed it. For the moment, that made me feel a little better.
“Just let me get this done, two minutes, okay? And then we’ll order pizza.”
I did that, playing with Shiloh as Rose took ten, not two, minutes to finish her application. To her credit, though, when she did, she came over, kissed me, hugged me tightly, and sat on my lap.
“Sorry.”
“No worries,” I said, although that wasn’t entirely true. It was mildly annoying to have been put to the side. “Pizza and a movie?”
“Yes, though I should warn you, not everything is set up here still, so we’ll have to watch it on my laptop. We can eat at the table, watch, and then go to my bedroom?”
I swear, is this like the Garden of Eden where I’m going to be tempted beyond my own self-control?
“Sure, why not?”
We ended up choosing some Marvel movie that I hadn’t seen, nor did I care to see. Apparently, it was a big fascinating interest to Rose. I want to say the title was like Dr. Stranger or something, but honestly, I was mostly just paying attention to the pizza and her.
And the one thing that I could not help but notice was that she was acting a little distant from me.
It wasn’t like she was giving me the cold shoulder or not making eye contact, but the fire and passion that had defined our last date were definitely not noticeable. Whether it was because she felt stressed from work, a little overburdened by me, or something else that was a little difficult to define, I couldn’t say.
But about halfway through the film, I tried to make a move, tired of this little distance we had. I didn’t know if it would do anything, and I kept telling myself that I would not have sex with her. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have some fun along the way.
I kissed her neck.
And she pulled away.
“What’s going on?” I said.
It was not a question of concern. It was a question of demand, trying to make sense of why someone I had nearly slept with Friday night and had a passionate kiss with the night before would suddenly become so cold.
“What do you mean?”
This is how your last relationship started to dissolve. You didn’t communicate directly, so when you got into fights, you just went in circles. Tell her what you mean.
“I came here because I wanted to see you,” I said slowly, making sure I explained everything in clear detail both for her and for me. “I had a feeling that when I asked, it was a little too soon. But, hey, last night went great, we know each other from before, so what’s the harm, right? That was sort of my thinking. But now that I’m here, I feel like an accessory. You know? Like I’m here, but your focus is more on the job and the movie.”
Rose took a second, paused the movie, and sat up on the bed. I did the same so it didn’t feel like she was talking down to me.
