Gavin:But I need one thing first to make that happen.
Me:What’s that?
Gavin:Your number.
I laughed and messaged him the digits, knowing within a few seconds, there would be a text from him.
And there was.
Unknown:So much easier.
Me:How is it that you get everything you want? You have some serious luck on your side, Gavin.
Gavin:Luck? I’ve been messaging you for hours. This has been work.
Me:Ha!
Gavin:And I don’t get everything I want. If I did, you would have come home with me. Or invited me into your apartment. Instead, I got a door in my face.
Me:But I didn’t slam the door.
Gavin:You might as well have.
Me:Not true. I closed it with love. And look what it did, it inspired you to reach out to me. Which I’m honestly shocked about.
Me:So shocked that it has me thinking ... this is you, isn’t it? An alien hasn’t taken over your body? Because for someone who only wants his needs taken care of, “working” and texting isn’t exactly your thing.
Gavin:It’s me.
Me:Oh, a new version of Gavin. It’s nice to meet you.
Gavin:How about we make that introduction in person?
“Ready?”
I jumped at the sound of Maya’s voice and shoved my phone into the pocket of my apricot-colored scrubs. “Yep. I’m starving.”
“Same.”
I stood from the desk and joined my best friend, our arms looped as we headed for the elevator. “How’s Bettie?”
“Great.” We broke apart as Maya stepped into the elevator first, hitting the button for the lobby, and I followed behind her. “She’s all excited because Gavin is supposed to come in sometime today.”
The mere mention of his name made my heart beat like a drum solo.
“Is he bringing Ben?” My question was purely innocent, something I would certainly ask, given that I had a history with Ben and I knew Maya would take it that way. “I’d love to see that little nugget.”
“She didn’t say anything about Ben coming, just Gavin. Ben’s probably at school.”
If he was coming solely for Bettie, he would bring Ben with him. Did that mean he was mostly coming to see me? I wasn’t going to focus on that too hard. He’d made the effort to reach out. He was texting me nonstop. He was even waiting for a response on his date invite.
Things were good. That didn’t mean I should start doing brain-cartwheels.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I never asked you how things went when he gave you a ride home the other night.” She pulled a clip out of her pocket and used it to hold up her hair after she twisted her dark locks into a knot.
“There isn’t much to say about it. I rode with him to our building, and he dropped me off. It was pretty uneventful.”
If she only knew the way I was overheating in these clothes ... or could feel my pulse.
