I both loved and hated that my best friend could see right through me. “Thatisthe real reason.”
“Is he hot? Your ‘the guy’ that’s ‘one of the guys’?”
Ohmigod... was he hot? That was an understatement. “He’s a thug, Kim.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Yes, he’s good looking... in a rough sort of way, I guess.”
“Hmm-mm, right,” she retorted. “I’ll text it to you.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you need a ride tomorrow?”
“You’re willing to come and get me at six-thirty?”
She gasped. “In the morning? Ah, no. Sorry, I just don’t love you quite that much.”
I giggled. “I know. Ell’s picking me up.”
“Oh, how I love him.”
“I know, babe. Everyone does.”
“Okay, I’m gonna text you his number and then hit the hay.”
“Thanks, Kim. See you on Tuesday for lunch, right?”
“Definitely. ’Bye.”
“’Bye.”
I sat on the sofa staring at the phone for what seemed like an eternity before Kim’s text came through. The number popped up on my screen and my heart raced in excitement. It was just after ten and I was typically in bed by now and wondered if he might be too. Maybe he wouldn’t answer, and I could leave a message. I bit my lip. I didn’t really know what to do. I felt compelled to call him. Like if I didn’t hear his voice before I went to bed, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“Dani, you are ridiculous,” I told myself, but it didn’t negate the fact that I was attracted to him. In a big way.
I set the phone aside and sipped my wine, then picked the phone up again and stared at it. I set it aside again and repeated these actions for several minutes as I contemplated my stupidity. In the end, I chalked it up to the fact that he had my car and I was just calling him to give him information. It didn’t matter that it was past ten on a Thursday night. It was business, so I dialed the number.
“Yo.”
“Um, hi. Is this Austin?” I asked. No response, so I glanced at my phone, then put it back to my ear. Maybe I’d dialed wrong. “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”
“You got me, Dani.” His voice washed over me and sent a chill down my spine.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked.
He chuckled. “No one else calls me Austin.”
“Oh. Right. Um, I just wanted you to have my new number for when you know what’s wrong with my car.”
“And you had to tell me that now?”
I was officially anidiot. “Well, no, I guess not. But it was either now or really early in the morning because I have to be at work at seven and I figured if you were asleep, you wouldn’t answer so I was going to leave a message. I didn’t expect you to pick up.” Crap, I was rambling again.
“Got it, darlin’.”
“Well, good. Okay. I’ll let you go.”
