Page 26 of Burning Obsession

Me: I didn’t.

Jake: LOL. I have a confession. I thought you gave me yours because you were being polite. Even thought you gave me a wrong number.

My chest tightens. Why would he think that?

Jake: I’m glad it was real.

I just sit there, taking in what he wrote. He was worried that I was blowing him off. As if that would ever happen.

Jake: So tell me something.

Me: What?

Jake: Were you really just getting coffee?

I smile, biting my lip as I reply. One simple word, but it speaks volumes.

Me: Yes.

Jake: And then you saw me?

My cheeks heat.

Me: I did. It’s what kept me from walking out with how busy it was.

Jake: Want to know a secret?

Me: Sure.

Jake: I wanted to ask you to stay. To not leave. I wanted to talk to you more.

Ahhhh. How can this man be real? He keeps saying things that make it impossible for me to pretend I'm unaffected by him.

Then another message appears and my heart skips a beat.

Jake: I was hoping you'd come back. Even kept watching you out of the window until you disappeared.

His words affect me more than they should. Maybe because I wanted him to want me. Maybe because I wanted to know I wasn't imagining whatever happened between us. Maybe because the second I saw him this morning, something in me shifted.

And now I don't want to ignore it.

Me: Maybe I will. The coffee wasn’t too bad. And maybe you’ll be there when I do.

His response takes less than a second.

Jake: Tomorrow?

I guess subtlety was thrown right out the window.

Me: That's confidence.

Jake: I'm asking, not assuming. Wouldn’t want to sit there waiting if you weren’t coming.

Me: Jake, are you asking me out for coffee tomorrow?

His answer comes through.

Jake: I am. I’d rather take you out to dinner. But I start my new shift tomorrow. Three nights in a row , fourteen hour shifts. Then I have a wedding this weekend.