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Who We Are

Hozier

I sat in my office chair and stared at the last message in our chat history for five minutes.

Was I dreaming, or had she really replied?

She had replied. Right away.

The nervousness in my chest made my hand tremble on the tabletop. My heart now seemed to be running a marathon, along with the euphoria in my stomach.

J had replied to me.

A tortured smile spread across my face, and I felt like an idiot, because that's what this woman made me. A lovesick idiot who forgot everything else, who wanted nothing more than to pack his bags and leave this godforsaken town with her for all eternity.

I typed, but deleted my lines for the third time.

What if I scared her away again? What if this was a second chance?

She went offline.

Panic spread through me and I typed my next words far too quickly.

She was back online immediately, sending another wave of euphoria through my chest.

She typed.

She was going to reply to me again.

I smiled, and the longing pain in my chest almost reared up, blurring my vision. And I couldn't stop the single tear that escaped from my right eye.

What if I hadn't lost her after all?

I blinked.

This had to be a dream.

And I was on the verge of cardiac arrest.

J continued typing.

Exhaling audibly, I ran my fingers through my hair.

She still had feelings for me, and it seemed she couldn't get me out of her head either.

Was I being selfish for being happy about this? Did it make me a possessive man to want her for myself and never let her go?

The next message arrived.

I dropped my phone on my desk and pushed myself back in my antique swivel chair.

This wasn't reality.

My phone buzzed.

The fireworks of euphoria in my stomach drove me back to the tabletop, where I blinked and reached for my phone.

The urge to tap the call button and find out if it really was J I was texting rushed through my index finger.