“Phone, phone, wallet — shit, where’s my wallet—” I found it in the freezer.
Don’t ask.
Keys. T-shirt. Did I smell okay? I sniffed myself, winced, and yanked the hoodie off to replace it with the nearest tee I could find on the floor. It was a promotional shirt from three years ago. The sleeves were uneven. One armpitmighthave had a suspicious hole. Again… didn't care.
I barely remembered to lock the door behind me. The gravel on the driveway stuck to the soles of my Crocs as I ran —ran— to my car like a man possessed. I’d never drivenanywhereso fast in my life. At one point, I’m pretty sure I thanked a trafficlight.
Out loud.
She was going to leave. She was going to walk into the café, see the empty chair, and decide I hadn’t meant it. That it was some kind of pity acceptance. Or worse — some kind of trap. And I couldn’t let that happen. Not when she’d looked at me with something thatcouldbe forgiveness.
Not when she’dpaused.
That’s when the thought hit me… clear as day…
Fuck.
I didn’t want to be her friend.
It landed like a gut punch.
I parked terribly. Absolutely diagonal. The meter blinked red as I jogged across the street, shoving the epiphany out of my mind as quickly as possible.
I didn’t have the time to deal with this problem. Not now.
And then —
There she was.
Inside already, seated at the corner table by the window. One knee bouncing. Hoodie sleeves tugged over her hands. Hair pulled back, she must have done it in the car, messy and uneven.
She hadn’t ordered anything yet. Just sat there, eyes fixed on the table. She looked as ifshewasn’t even sure she was staying.
But she was there.
She’d come.
She’dstayed.
My breath caught and my Crocs squeaked against the tile as I opened the café door.
She looked up. Our eyes met.
And for the first time in weeks, the whole world went quiet.
I froze.
She blinked up at me, eyes squinting as if she were unsure if I was real or just a caffeine-deprived hallucination. And in that split second, I forgot every normal human word I’d ever known.
Say something, dumbass.
Smile.
Wave.
Use your limbs.
Instead I did this weird sort of… half-nod, half-limp-hand-lift like I was trying to salute a ghost. Her brows lifted. Not mockingly — just… surprised. Curious. A little confused.
