She nodded to the upper corner. “Check out the return address.”
Damien Ramos.
“What did he send me?” I question aloud. Curiosity tickled the back of my mind, but my hands didn’t move, too nervous about what sat inside. “I—he didn’t say anything.”
“Duh,” Ollie chuckled. “That’s why it’s a surprise. It’s romantic. Oh!” She clappedher hands as she grinned. “What if it’s a bunch of sex toys?”
“Not that I’m telling you anything about what’s going on between us, but…” My eyes darted open as I took in the box’s size. “If that’s true, he’s got way too much faith in my kinky side. There’d have to be a toy in it for every day of the month.”
“Only one way to find out,” Ollie mused as she walked over to a drawer and pulled a pair of scissors. “Better open it up.”
I stared at the scissors in her hand, inhaling a steadying breath before taking them. Slicing open the tape, I pushed away the packing paper, revealing a bunch of books and other items from the Oakland area. As I pulled out each one, I chuckled, recognizing most of them from my online book wishlist. Thumbing through the pages, I gasped when I saw the author had signed the front cover. After I placed the first one down, I grabbed the other three from the package, finding them signed as well. I shook my head, reaching into the box to pull out a handwritten card.
Remembered how much you loved these ones. Saw them and had to grab the set for your shelves.
- D
Ollie’s eyes widened as she read the note over my shoulder. “Wow. Gotta give it to the guy. He knows the way to your heart.”
I shook my head. “It’s not like that. He’s just being nice.”
“No, nice is grabbing someone a trinket or two from the airport. Searching a bookstore for someone’s comfort series and buying signed copies? That’s a love language if I’ve ever heard one.”
I thumbed the card, waiting for the usual unease to prickle my spine. This was not about love. At least, it wasn’t supposedto be. But as each day passed without Damien, I found myself missing him, and not just for the sex. He was easy to talk to—to confide in. Besides Ollie, he was the only person I opened up to about my divorce, and never once did he make me feel like less because of it.
Ollie let out a loud laugh as she pulled the card from my hand, flipping it over.
Think this is worth at least two items from your list, angel…
“I’m on Team Damien with this one. You need to finish the whole damn list now.” Ollie arched an eyebrow. “What have you crossed off with him?”
My cheeks flamed, and I tucked the note into my pocket. I was unsure why, but I wanted to keep it. My mouth opened, ready to tell Ollie all about the items we’d checked off together, but the words refused to come. It was one thing to talk about this stuff with Ollie when it was hypothetical, but now that Damien was involved, I had a harder time telling her about our time together. I wanted to hold it close, keep it tight to my chest, keep us unsullied by other’s opinions and perspectives.
“Not telling,” I mused, digging deeper into the package. There were a couple of snacks: chips I told him I could never find here, a few chocolate bars. But when I reached the bottom, my fingers snagged on some fabric. I pulled it out, holding the dark emerald jersey up. I knew what adorned the back before I even turned it around. But when I did, I couldn’t help but smile atRamosetched into the fabric.
Ollie squealed as I held it up for her to see. “Girl, that man is gone for you! Wearing his jersey and sitting in the family area? He’s practically peeing aroundyou in a circle.”
“Ew, Ol. Did not need that visual.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Damien’s making his intentions very well known.” A sudden seriousness washed over her face. “Are you ready for that?”
My breath stuttered in my chest, unsure of what to do . Maybe Damien realized what he wanted, but my head and heart were speaking completely different languages. Past hurt and fear made me want to shove everything back into the box, pretending it’d gotten lost in the mail. However, Damien’s face flashed in my mind, and I pictured his smile as he put together this package just for me. When was the last time someone took the time to show me they cared?
“I’m not sure,” I muttered. “This was supposed to be safe—easy and no feelings involved. But Damien…”
“He’s under your skin?”
“More than I ever thought.” I sat on the stool next to the island. Shaking my head, I dropped the jersey on my lap. “It’s like I’m standing in this crossroad, and I don’t know which way to turn. Either I keep going down this path with Damien and he crushes me, or I stop it now…” My voice trailed off, unable to even finish the sentence. Because honestly—the idea of losing Damien now seemed like a worse fate than getting hurt down the line.
Ollie plopped down next to me, taking my free hand in hers. “Those aren’t the only options.”
“They’re not?”
“No, dummy. Those are just the scariest ones. You might do this for a bit, and it fizzles out, no hard feelings, no lingering doubts. Or…”
I glared at her as her voice trailed off. “Or?”
“Or you both take the leap and find out you have something here. A real chance at happiness, Bri. Sure,that thought might be terrifying, but you’ll never know if you don’t decide to jump.”
