“What, what? Your mom’s cool as shit. Plus, she can help keep an eye on Will in case you want to talk to Tinker again.”
Abby shot her a baleful look as they entered the atrium. Lindsey just grinned back.
“I’ll ask tonight when he texts me. Right now, I need to focus on this. Who was looking for me?”
“What?” Lindsey asked.
“You said a student was looking for me,” she reminded her.
“Oh. I made that up. I saw you sneaking off and figured I’d interrupt before you both got naked.”
Abby shook her head. “Thanks. I guess.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Lindsey said.
“Are they though?”
That night she didn’t wait for Tinker to initiate their nightly text exchange.
Hey. Is it okay if I bring my mom on Sunday?
Sure. The more the merrier.
Thank you. She can help keep an eye on Will and she wants to meet you officially.
Her phone rang a few seconds later, Tinker’s name flashing across the screen. “Hey,” she answered.
“Meeting the parental unit already. That’s a big step. That means things are getting serious.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. He sounded like he was joking, but meeting the parents was a big step in a relationship, unless they already knew the parents. Then it wasn’t a big deal. Was she taking things too far, too soon? Maybe she shouldn’t go on Sunday. Meeting his friends, meeting hers, and her mom. It suddenly felt overwhelming.
“Abby. I can hear you overthinking it. I’m kidding. Of course your mom can come.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “It was just…I?—”
Tinker chuckled. “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time. It’s all good.”
“Okay.”
“Hey. You can always tell me what you’re thinking. I’d rather you tell me straight up than beat around the bush because you think I might not like what you have to say.”
“It’s just, sometimes I overthink things, then I don’t know how to say what I want to say.” It was something she’d struggled with her entire adult life. The only time she hadn’t struggled was when Tony had given her the ultimatum.
“Just blurt it out. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings.”
Abby pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. “I really like you, Christian, and I want to see where this goes, but I’m also afraid of where it will end up.”
The line was quiet for several seconds, prompting her to look at the screen of her phone to see if they were still connected.
“I like you too, Abby.” His voice was low and earnest. “I don’t have any guarantees, but I want to see where this goes as well. All I can promise is I will never purposely hurt you.”
Wasn’t that all anyone could ask for? “Okay.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you Sunday,” she said.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
