I hadn’t gone over there to help him that day sophomore year. I’d gone to apologize because I’d shown up at his door the night before, drunk and crying about my own life.
I didn’t even know he was putting up wallpaper. I’d just found him on the floor in a pile of it. That was my biggest issue at St. Michael’s. I was always too anxious about my own existence to care about all the other things around me.
I couldn’t see how great Zach was because I was stuck in an eternal spiral of negativity.
Zach:Looks good, Honeycomb. I'm expecting that kind of due diligence when I get my place.
Zach sends another message before I can respond. Guessing he knew exactly what I was thinking about.
Honey:You still haven't found anywhere to live?
Zach:Nope. Haven't been looking too hard if I'm honest. Been keeping busy with this team. There's a lot of work to do.
Honey:Or you're really enjoying living with Dax. Admit it. Those eyes and his quippy one-liners would draw anyone in.
Zach:Anyone? Like you?
Honey:You don't need to worry about Dax. You know that.
The typing bubble appears almost immediately, disappears, then pops back up again. I can practically picture him pacing somewhere, phone in hand, his thumb hovering over the screen. I know this pattern well enough to recognize what it means—he’s deciding how honest to be with me. Sometimes I get full-on declarations with an apology a few hours later. Other times, just a joke.
Zach:Doesn't mean I don't.
Zach:Especially when you have dudes offering you the opportunity to join a cult and cliff dive for the rest of your life while you live in a yurt.
Cult? Cliff dive?
My brow furrows until I realize he's talking about Jake. The guy I haven't even spoken to or thought about since I got off the cruise.
Honey:First of all, I would never live in a yurt.
Zach:Good. That's a relief.
Honey:Second, if I do join a cliff-diving cult, you'll be the first to know.
Zach:Appreciate that. I'd like time to emotionally prepare.
Honey:For what?
Zach:For the part where I have to fly out and steal you back.
My stupid heart skips a little as I read the message.
Honey:You're ridiculous.
Zach:And yet you keep texting me.
I stare at the screen for a second, smiling despite myself.
Then another message pops up.
Zach:Also, that seam in the middle is crooked.
I laugh just as Olivia comes back into the room and tosses me a soda as I place my phone on the bed beside me.
“Thanks,” I say.
She gets comfortable back in her rocking chair. “So, how's all of that going?” She gestures vaguely with one hand at me and the phone.
