“I don’t want to shut him down, Jack,” I say quickly, my eyes snapping up to his. “I didn’t even mean to shut him down the first time. You know that. You know exactly what I want.”
“Yes, I do,” he says, nodding. He reaches across the table and gives my arm a gentle squeeze. “And I think if you want this to work out, this is the right time.”
I sip my coffee, trying to hide the smile blooming from the inside out. I know I’ve done an awful job when I look back up and he’s grinning at me.
“You’ve gotta tell him this time, Ellie Bellie.”
“Hey, only my parents and Abby can call me that.”
“Yeah? Well absolutelyno onecan call me ‘Jack Robbit’, but here we are.”
“You really think this can work out, Jack?”
He nods slowly, seriously.
“I really do. But I think it might be now or never. Don’t make him wait for you longer than he already has.”
“He wasn’t waiting for me, he was dating someone else!”
“Yeah, and you also dated someone else. And then you said he was just a distraction. And before that, he made a dumb bet with his idiot friends. Doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hoping and waiting for you the whole time.”
My heart is racing, the butterflies in my stomach threatening to burst through my chest, my thoughts spinningas I allow myself to hope that the stars might finally be aligning for me and Griffin.
“Okay,” I say, unable to contain the giggles bubbling up inside my chest. “Okay. I’ll figure out a way to tell him how I feel and that Iwantthis, that I want a real shot with him.”
“Good,” he says, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Can we eat now? I’ve been up since six and I’m starving.”
“Why on earth did you get up at six?”
“I get up at six every day, Ellie, it’s called discipline.”
Rolling my eyes, we put in our order with the waitress and spend the rest of the morning catching up on our spring break stories. I laugh loudly when my stories of Abby obviously stress him out, and I give him a hard time about how many hours of Jeopardy he watched with his granny.
When he drops me off at home, he gets out of his Jeep and pulls me into a big bear hug.
“Go get your man, Ellie Turner,” he says, playfully punching my shoulder. “Let yourselves be happy.”
Waving goodbye as he drives away, I turn and bolt straight to my room to call Abby with the news. We spend several hours concocting some sort of grand-gesture, declaration of love that I’m sure will go out the window the second I see him.
Maybe this is our 90s rom-com ending moment. We’ll kiss in the rain and live happily ever after, and everything will work out.
One thing’s for sure–I love Griffin Hart with all my might. And I’ll be damned if I miss the chance to tell him again.
***
By the time Thursday rolls around, I’m convinced the universe hates me. When I wanted to avoid Griffin, he seemed to be everywhere. Now that I actuallywantto talk to him, I haven’t been able to find him in the hallways once.
Is he avoiding me?
Maybe Jack was wrong. Maybe breaking up with Katie had absolutely nothing to do with me, and just because he’s single now doesn’t mean he wants me.
Chewing on my lower lip, I stare at the series of texts Jack sent me a few minutes ago.
Jack:Have you talked to Griffin yet?
Jack: Given that he’s still walking around like a kicked puppy, I’m assuming you haven’t
Jack:What the hell are you waiting for?
