She rolled her eyes and pushed me toward the driver’s side. “Get going so you make it home before the roads get too crowded.” I nodded and got in. She leaned against the open door frame and cleared her throat. “Did you at least tell Phoenix you were leaving?”
I stared at my hands as I gripped the steering wheel.
“I did.”
10
Phoenix
My pacing back and forth across the family room floor had to have been driving everyone mad. Brooklynn was on the couch watchingThe Princess Bride. Amberly, James, and Dad sat at a card table playing Rummy, and Ma was beside them with Maddie on her lap, doing something on her computer. I kept stomping around behind them, unintentionally becoming a distraction while I mulled shit over.
I couldn’t believe that Jonas had up and left. What was that he’d promised me not even a week ago? Oh yeah. That he wouldn’t do literally this exact thing. No avoidance this time, he’d said. This was what I got for putting myself out there. He’d pulled away about twenty minutes ago, after feeding me some bullshit excuse about needing to get back to Raleigh for work. The simple truth was that he left because of me, and I didn’t even try to stop him because I was pissed.
I stopped pacing and slumped onto the couch beside Brooklynn. She glanced over at me and then back at the screen. “You know,” she began, “if you haul ass and you’re willing to put up the big bucks, you could fly from Asheville to Raleigh throughCharlotte in like two and a half hours. You could beat Jonas home.” She shot me another glance. “Just saying.”
A flicker of hope sparked in my gut, to be immediately snuffed out again by reality. “He doesn’t want me to do that.”
“Bet ya five hundred bucks he’d ultimately be happy to see you.”
I sat up and grabbed the remote from her, then paused her movie. “Do you know something I don’t?”
She sighed dramatically and shifted so that she sat cross-legged. “I know several million things that you don’t know, Phoenix. You’re gonna need to be more specific than that.”
“AboutJonas, Brookie. You know what I meant.”
“Okay, look. I’m breaking several best friend codes here, but I love you both, so, yes.” She counted on her fingers. “He’s crazy about you. But he’s afraid he’s just another one of the guys you’ve got coming and going like a revolving door. He’s concerned because you live so far apart and have very different lives. And I know my best friend. He wants to be romanced, ya know? Not just a vacation hookup. The whole true love, big gesture thing. Not that you need to be in love with him to go after him. You care about him, and he cares about you. There are worse and weirder potential couples, I suppose.” She grinned at me when I flipped her off, then she leaned forward and grabbed something from the coffee table. “Hold out your hand.” I held my hand out, palm up, and she smacked a key onto it. “Apartment key. If you hurt him or defile my couch, you’re dead to me.”
“You care about your couch as much as your best friend?”
“Hey, it’s a new couch, and it’s comfy.” She shrugged, then stretched her arms over her head and settled into the cushions. “You better get going. You’ll be cutting it close as it is with TSA. But with Jonas pulling off for pit stops and to get gas, you justmightmake it there before him.”
I stood up and hesitated for a moment. I had no time to spare, but didn’t know what to do first.Okay, focus. Ticket. Luggage. Ride to the airport. In that order.My family stood up for hugs. I was cutting my visit with them short, and I did feel guilty about that. But then my mom handed me a piece of paper, and when I glanced at it, it was a flight ticket she must have just printed.
I pulled her in for another hug. “Thanks, Ma,” I whispered in her ear.
She patted the spot between my shoulder blades as we hugged. “Go work through whatever situation you’ve found yourselves in. And take care of that young man. He deserves it.” Pulling away, she looked me in the eyes. “So do you.”
Dad came walking back into the room, plopped the strap of my duffel bag into my hand, and then passed me the keys to his SUV. “I’ll pick it up from the lot later, son. Just let me know which one you end up in.”
They all shooed me to the door. My head was spinning. This was crazy. I very likely could regret it. Jonas might slam the door in my face when he saw me—for the second time in less than a week. But it was a chance I was willing to take.
11
Jonas
On my way out of town, I decided coffee and a bagel were necessities, and pulled into the local coffee shop. Knowing I’d be on the road crammed inside a car for the next four hours, I walked inside to order.
I went with my usual once it was my turn. “Grande soy latte and a plain bagel, toasted, with cream cheese, please.” They were speedy with the service, and since I had nothing but an empty apartment to drive home to, I sat in one of the booths near the door to enjoy my food before I hit the road.
As I was about to take the last bite of the first half of my bagel, someone slid into my booth on the bench seat across from me. My stomach flipped, thinking maybe Phoenix had come after me to tell me to stop being an idiot, but it was Marcus. He stared at me, a slow smile overtaking his face.
He greeted me with a “Hi, handsome.”
“Hey, Marcus. Good morning.” I’d been slouched over my coffee, so I sat back, already physically and emotionally exhausted. I had no energy for human interaction, but he was a nice guy, and a few minutes of conversation wouldn’t kill me. Although the “handsome” had thrown me off. We’d never had the sort of friendship where we threw words like that around.
Marcus craned his neck and looked around the coffee shop. It was pretty packed right now. “Are you here alone?”
I nodded and took a drink of my latte. Marcus tilted his head and scrutinized me. “Is everything okay?” he asked. “You seem a little quiet.”
