The man pushed all my buttons, even when he was more than one hundred miles away.
Me: She only spoils you because you haven’t been around in a while.
Danny: Admit it. I’m your mom’s favorite.
Me: Be careful not to say that in front of Tina. She’ll probably sneak salt into your coffee.
Danny: I heard a rumor at dinner that you might not come home for the Fourth. What gives?
Me: Same thing I told you last night. I’m trying to bank all the hours at work I can.
I thought about it for a second, then typed:
Me: Plus, today I got promoted to assistant manager.
Danny: Congratulations?
Me: Yes.
Danny: Not if it means you don’t come home for the Fourth. No one oohs over fireworks the way you do.
He followed up with a laughing emoji, and I rolled my eyes.
Me: You’re not incentivizing me.
Danny: Incentivizing. Nice. You think I’ll learn big words like that when I start my classes this fall?
I sent him an eye-roll emoji.
Danny: You’re right. I don’t need professors to build my vocabulary since I already know all the best words. Like pork chops and fireworks and my best friend should share those with me on the Fourth.
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t hold back the grin tipping up the corner of my mouth as I read his ridiculous texts.
Me: I’ll see what I can do. No promises.
He sent me a fist-pump emoji.
Such a guy thing to do.
Danny: I’m taking it as a promise. No backing out now.
I sent him another eye roll and:
Me: You can stop harassing me now.I have a quiz to studyfor.
Danny: Nopromises.
Me: Good night, Danny.
To make sure I wouldn’t succumb to any more of his distractions, I turned off my notifications, walked over to the door to my bedroom, and tossed my phone onto the middle of the bed.
Even before his military discharge and subsequent return home, Danny took up too much space in my head, but after spending time with him last night, he owned ninety-five percent of today’s thoughts. I’d purposely signed up for the summer session of the business administration class to make my life easier in the fall, which wouldn’t happen if I didn’t study right now.
With a firm admonition to get my head back in the game, I dragged my backpack onto the couch beside me. Next I pulled out my textbook and laptop, setting them on the coffee table next to my half-eaten sandwich. Huffing out a breath, I grabbed a soda from the fridge and came back to the couch to fish around in my backpack for my charger. After plugging in my laptop and flipping my textbook open to the relevant chapter, I settled in with my meager dinner to read through my notes and occasionally consult the textbook to be sure I was prepared for the questions I thought the prof was likely to ask.
Once I’d zeroed in on studying, I managed not to think about Danny Chambers for two whole hours. As I scrolled through the last of my notes, I detected a cramp in my lower back, which alerted me to the weird angle of my body—one foot tucked beneath my ass as I hovered over my laptop and my textbook on the table. Also, I had to pee. With a groan, I massaged my back and unfolded myself from the cushions. Pins and needles assaulted my leg, and for an embarrassing second, I thought it might not support me. Shaking my head at my own ridiculousness, I hobbled around the end of the couch and made my way to the bathroom.
Of course the first thing I wondered as I spied my phone in the middle of my bed on my way to my tiny en suite was if Danny had continued to text after I’d ended the conversation? My bladder insisted the answer could wait. My head said absolutely not. I snagged my phone and checked my messages while I did my business. Not classy, but I lived alone, so I didn’t have to worry about impressing anyone.
