Page 40 of Romeo

Talking to Jasper through a screen felt easier than talking to almost anyone face-to-face. I didn’t have to wonder whether he was waiting for me to stop so he could talk. I never felt like I’d said too much.

More than once, I’d caught myself reaching for my phone because something stupid happened and he was the first person I wanted to tell.

I refused to think about what that meant.

Jasper: Interesting.

Me: Your answer?

Jasper: Phone call.

Me: Why?

Jasper: I prefer hearing reactions I didn’t have to imagine.

My stomach flipped. That answer definitely had something underneath it. Or at least I wanted it to.

Me: That sounded suspicious

Jasper: Cake or pie?

Me: Coward

I shook my head; I could practically hear him laughing.

Jasper: Pie.

Me: Wrong

Jasper: We can’t build a friendship on this kind of disagreement.

Friendship.

My eyes stopped on the word.

There it was.

The nice, safe little box I kept insisting we belonged in.

Apparently, I didn’t like seeing Jasper put us there nearly as much as I liked doing it myself.

Me: We’ll survive

Jasper: Confident.

Me: Accurate

“Earth to Fiona.”

I looked up to find Melanie staring at me with her arms crossed.

“What?”

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Smiling at your phone like it just proposed.” Melanie leaned back in her chair. “Seriously, who is this guy?”