“Morgan, I’m sorry. I don’t have any other way to tell you and?—”
“You’re lying.” Am I dreaming? I fell asleep at the lab and my anxiety about Clarissa’s ridiculous blind date has manifested itself as this strange person who thinks he can get me to believe that this is not even our second date, but our sixtieth.
“I’m not lying.” His fists clench on the cement. “Please, you have to?—”
“I don’t have to do anything.” Certainly nothing he says. Brush my teeth, drink more water, look both ways—now morethan ever, apparently—when crossing the street. Those are things Ihaveto do. Listen to a stranger spouting impossible nonsense? Doesn’t even make my list. Travel through time? I can’t even charge a laptop.
“Morgan. Wait.” He scrambles to his feet as I try to march off. “You remember. You just said. The bus. You said you remembered.”
“I don’t know what I remember, but it’s not that. That would be impossible. How can I be here now if I were dead?” How many times did I wish for my mother to come back when we all knew that she was gone?
“I know it’s a lot. If you would just come with me, we could talk.” He reaches for my hand, but I yank it away. The door to the diner opens, and a bunch of people stumble out.
Good. Witnesses.
“Get lost. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“No.” His face turns anguished, and if I knew him or liked him better, I’d feel bad about it. But I don’t, on either front. The only thing recommending him is he did save me from a second horrible death by bus—though the very idea it’s happened twice makes my brain spasm. I shake it off. Saving my life doesn’t make up for his career choices. He works for Walter Wolfe.
Though if he’s a criminal, why did he save me? Maybe I’m making that up. Clarissa said he and Alyssa met in med school. So he’s a doctor, right?
If you need henching.
Woah, where did that come from? We hadn’t even gotten to the “so what do you do for a living?” part of our supposed date. Trying to make sense of it only leaves me with a twisting, nauseous feeling.
“Please. You’re the only one who can get me out of this.” He grabs for me again. I step out of his way, and he crashes into the group who just exited Wench.
“What the hell?” someone asks.
“He’s drunk,” I say. “And an asshole.”
“Watch where you’re going.” A big guy in a leather jacket shoves at Jasper, pushing him farther away from me. The big guy folds his arms over his chest like he’s expecting a fight, but when Jasper rights himself, his gaze is on me and his smile is cold.
“You’ve tried this before,” he says. “It won’t help. I give you two hours tops before we do it all over again.”
Is that a threat? I take an unconscious step back before I gather myself and say, “Thanks for coming tonight, but I don’t think this date?—”
“Is worth repeating,” he says, overlapping the end of my sentence. My cheeks heat, either in fury or from the rush of fear that comes with the little voice in my head that says he might be telling the truth. Either way, my erstwhile bodyguard is holding his ground, and Jasper doesn’t push it. I blow Jasper a gentle kiss, then hurry across the intersection—after checking for oncoming vehicles—to the lot where my car is parked.
The last time I see Jasper Jackson, he’s staring after me as I drive down the street, leaving him in my rearview mirror.
I call Clarissa on the road home.
“So?” Her voice is full of anticipation.
“You’re in so much trouble.”
“It didn’t go well?”
I can’t even begin to describe the levels of fucked up still rattling around in my head. So instead, I sigh. “It didn’t go well.”
She makes a noise of sympathy. “Did you try? I know you were nervous, but Alyssa said he’s a really nice guy. But if it wasn’t a fit, that’s okay. There’s this guy from the Toronto office I want to introduce you to. He’ll be at the board meeting next week.”
Ugh. The idea of the board meeting is exhausting, as is the idea of meeting more guys like Jasper. It’s been a long day, regardless of how many times I’ve supposedly lived it.
But at least the mention of work grounds me in something normal. No time loops. No lying bloody on the sidewalk while Jasper asks me not to forget him again.
“Did you send me the updated slides?” I ask.
