He wrapped his arm around the back of her neck, pulling her into a loose headlock. “It kills you to admit that I’m right, doesn’t it?”
She dug a finger into his ticklish spot to force him to let go.
He changed tactics and wrapped both arms around her, trapping her arms next to her body. “Say I’m right.”
“No.” She lunged ahead as he started to drag behind her.
“Say it!” His arms slid down to her waist, and she freed her arms, pushing at his.
“No. Let go!” she said, laughing.
“Saaaayyyy iiiiit.” He slid all the way down until he lay on the ground, his arms wrapped around her ankles.
She stepped out of the circle of his arms. “What are you? Twelve?”
He popped up and grabbed his bag. “Yes. Always. Now that I have you laughing, tell me why you’re so mopey.”
“I’m not mopey.” She dug her key fob out of her purse and unlocked her truck.
He tossed his duffle into the back seat and climbed in. “Sis, you’re so mopey you could get a job at Disney as the eighth dwarf.”
She glared at him as she pushed the ignition button.
“Spill it. Is it Devon?”
Something must have shown on her face because he reached over and pressed the ignition button, turning off the truck.
“Come on, tell me.”
Addison leaned back against the seat and slouched down. “It wasn’t…pretend. At least I didn’t think it was.”
“What happened?”
She shook her head and shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing happened. I didn’t see him or talk to him after the first day at the hospital. I kept expecting to run into him, but I never did, and then he didn’t come to the terminal to say goodbye.
“I thought…I thought we had a connection. I thought it was more than physical. I didn’t have to tone it down, or hold back, or minimize my personality. I was able to be who I am without worrying about some guy’s fragile ego, and it was great. I thought everything was great, but now it’s…nothing.”
“Have you tried calling him and asking what the fuck?” he asked.
She shook her head, picking at her cuticle.
“Why not?”
“I think not knowing is better than knowing for sure.”
“What if you’re wrong, and it’s a big miscommunication? What if he’s thinking the same thing and trying to get up the nerve to call you to ask what the fuck?”
“What if he’s not?”
“Then he’s a stupid fucker who doesn’t deserve you anyway. But the Devon I know isn’t a stupid fucker. He’s a fucker who’s done stupid shit, but he’s not a stupid fucker. You owe it to yourself to find out for sure, Addison.”
“Is this where you use your ‘I almost died and life is too short’ guilt trip on me?”
“Yes. This is exactly where I do that, because you know I’m right.”
She smiled. “I will try to call him when we get home.”
“No.”
“No? You just said to find out for sure.”
“Right, but you guys bumped uglies—this is a conversation you need to have in person, not over a phone. You can drop me off at the apartment and drive your happy ass to Charleston to ask him in person.”
She curled her upper lip. “Don’t ever say bumping uglies to me again. Ever. And…I could call him and save the gas money.”
“Or…you could go in person and ask him to his face.”
They had the argument the entire hour-long drive to her apartment north of Andrews Air Force Base, and in the end, she packed a few days’ worth of clothes in her overnight bag and pointed her truck south.
