Me:Are you okay?
Gabby:Yeah I'm fine. Get home safe. Talk to you later
Maybe she stopped to pick up something.
Anyway.
I finish up around 5 p.m. I can't get out the door fast enough.
Sarah catches me just before I exit.
“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go get dinner later.”
Damn it. Honestly, that's the last thing I want right now.
“No, I’m kind of busy,” I brush off.
“Lincoln,” she says, her soft voice sounding sad. “We don’t hang out anymore at all. And I thought you said that Gabby and you weren’t together. Or at least that’s what she said.”
“Yeah, well, we’renot. But I already made plans with Gabby.”
Sarah stares at me. “What? You’re just gonna ditch me now and not be friends with me anymore?”
“I don’t want to lead you on, Sarah. We’re not going to hook up again.”
Sarah smiles, but it’s thin. “I thought we knew each other better than that. You know, more than just a hook up.”
I return a small smile. “You think that if you and I get together right now, that we’re not going to end up hooking up or doing something that involves sex in some way, shape, or form?”
“Are you fucking Gabrielle?” she asks bluntly.
“No, IwishI was, but we’re just genuinely friends.”
“That’s how it starts.Wewere friends too.”
“I have alotmore history with her. It’s a lot easier with her. I mean, I liked hanging out with you too, but for you and me, it was just about sex.”
There's a weird look on Sarah's face. Almost like I wounded her.
“Right?” I ask.
She blinks twice, then forces a tight smile. “Of course. Yeah, I like hanging out with you anyway. You were my friend. So it’s not just about sex. I genuinely liked hanging out with you.”
“Yeah, but all wedidis have sex.”
“No, we also went and had dinner. We hung out. We went to the theme park. We watched TV together.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling faintly, “which always led to sex or came right before it.”
She holds my gaze a moment longer, expression tight. “Anyway, have a good one. It’s okay. I got a date anyway.”
My heart pricks a little bit. There's a small part of me that's curious about what that could mean, but then it leaves as quickly as it came. That's a latent part of my manhood telling me I should protect and possess this woman.
But my heart is telling me that I really don't give a fuck. And right now I just want to go home. "All right, have fun," I say.
Sarah wipes the smile off her face that didn't look genuine in the first place.
And I head home.
