I shuffled into my living room and settled onto the couch. It would be impossible to think about sleep right now, and I was far too wired to try writing anything in my novel, so I grabbed a book from my shelf and tried to read for a few minutes to calm down. I ended up mindlessly reading, not really absorbing the words.
Then my phone pinged. I set my book aside with a sigh and read the text.
FLOSSY POSSE:
MACEY: I hope you feel better, Hope!
TYLER: Yeah, I hope you’re doing okay!
HOPE: I’m all good now. Don’t worry about me, guys. I’ll see you on Thursday!
My phone pinged again, and I thought it was the group chat, but it was Tyler messaging me privately.
TYLER: How are you feeling?
This was new territory with Tyler. Now that he’d sorta made a move on me, I was considering the possibility of being more than friends with him…
HOPE: I’m good. Jay stitched me up, so everything should be fine.
TYLER: I’m really sorry, Hope. I wish I could’ve stopped it.
HOPE: You didn’t know I was such a klutz lol. It’s okay.
TYLER: I just hate that our moment ended on such a bad note…
HOPE: It didn’t end badly. I had a great time with you today, despite the stitches.
TYLER: Really?
HOPE: Really. I think you’re really sweet, Ty. And I like you…
TYLER: I like you too…
Just as I was about to respond, a knock at my apartment door jolted me back to reality.
“Hope? Can I come up?” Jay’s voice echoed up my stairwell, where the connecting door was.
I quickly threw my phone onto the cushion next to me like it was a hot potato and ran my fingers through my still-damp hair, trying to smooth it down.
“Uh, yeah, sure! Come on up,” I called back.
Moments later, Jay appeared at my door, carrying a small bag. He gave me a small half-smile, and I did my best to look relaxed while sitting on the couch. Could he tell I was wired? Because I felt like a live bundle of copper cords ready to electrocute something. This day was making me feel crazy. The back and forth between the Ty and Jay stuff was starting to make me feel a little dizzy, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with my head injury.
“I thought you might need some Tylenol,” Jay said, holding up the bag. “And I brought a few ice packs, just in case.”
It took me a second to respond, a little taken aback by his hospitality. “Thanks,” I said, shuffling on the couch, unsure what to be doing with my body at the moment. I decided to grab a decorative pillow and wrap my arms around it, a protective shield of sorts.
Having him here in my space was not helping me avoid thinking about the moment when he’d lifted me onto his kitchen counter only an hour ago. Or how he’dbeen standing between my legs while he stitched me up. I was struggling to shove aside a plethora of images involving him, and having him in my space was not helping.
Jay walked over to the kitchen, impervious to my chaotic thoughts, and retrieved a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water. When he came over to the couch, he handed it to me along with the pain meds and ice packs.
“Here, you should take these now to help with any swelling and pain.”
I took the pills and swallowed them with a sip of water. I hyper-focused on what I was doing, trying desperately to keep out images of him tending to my head.
He’s a dentist,I reminded myself mid-gulp. And that helped a little.
Just as I finished handing him the empty glass, my phone buzzed again. My eyes quickly flitted to the phone where I’d tossed it only a minute ago. It was right there, only a foot away from both Jay and me. Unless Jay was blind, he had to have caught sight of Ty’s contact flashing on the screen and maybe even the message.
