Page 131 of Hard to Get

Her eyes shine. “Do you forgive me?”

“I already have. I was really salty at first. I didn’t know what to do. I talked to LG one night and he kinda helped me get my head on straight.”

“Oh.”

“Uh… you wanna come back to my place? I’m fucking freezing.”

She smiles. “Okay.”

We both stand. I pick up my empty coffee cup to toss it in the garbage.

“Betty! Come!”

Well-trained Betty trots over and looks at us expectantly. Frank follows her.

“Time to go.” Stella fastens the leash, as do I.

We head down the street. Rain starts spitting on us, making me even colder. We quicken our steps until we burst into the lobby of my building, a little wet and laughing.

“How’s your foot?” Stella asks in the elevator.

“It’s still a bit sore. Apparently, it could be weeks before it’s totally better. But I can walk and I can skate.”

I let us into my condo and flick on a lamp in the living room, then start the fire because… cold. Stella hangs her jacket over the back of a stool at the counter. Both dogs head to the water dish. Frank lets Betty nudge him aside and drink first. Good man.

The city lights sparkle outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, blurred by the water on the glass and the fog and rain. We sit on the couch.

“So what did LG tell you to do?” she asks.

“He told me there are lots of fish in the sea.”

Her mouth falls open.

I shrug. “That was the first thing he said. I told him I don’t want any other fish.”

Her face relaxes.

“But he realized I’m pretty gone over you.”

She snorts a soft laugh.

“And then he said I should fight for you.”

Those pretty lips curve into a soft smile.

“He pointed out that you did say you wanted to keep seeing me.”

She nods. “I really am sorry. That was stupid and thoughtless of me to think you’d want to keep going when we didn’t feel the same about each other.”

“But… we do feel the same… right?”

“Yes.”

“I thought about what my sister said to me a while back. When I told her I was seeing you. And I felt…” I pause. Should I tell her this? Yeah. I have to be honest. “I felt like I was competing for your attention with… everything. Your life. Your dog, your job, your orchids. Your clean toilet seat.”

Her eyes widen and stay fastened on my face. “I didn’t realize that.”

“I didn’t want it to be a competition. Because then somebody loses. I wanted us both to win.”