Page 73 of Seeing Harper

“You’re welcome. We had a good time,” he said, smiling like a little kid as he sat there alone in the apartment marveling at the fact that she’d called him.

Their conversation slowed a bit, leaving her grasping for something to say. “So, do you have a busy day planned?” she finally asked.

“Yeah, every day. I tend to overload myself with classes so I can graduate more quickly than anticipated. So, that means a lot of classwork and homework. Can’t afford to miss a lecture.”

“Sounds intense. I understand sticking to your goals, though. Not a lot of people our age can stick with commitments that are that intense. Most aren’t already aiming for politics. I’m really impressed that you are.”

“I’m lucky enough to have known what I wanted to do for a long time,” Cruz said.

“I remember you always being so focused in school. I was envious.”

“Focus is easy if you just find what matters to you,” he said. “So, what are your plans for the day?”

“Oh, you know… pulling a split shift at the store, and working at the restaurant between store shifts. Try to make a little extra money this week.”

“Richie says you’re one of the best employees he’s got. That’s praise not easily won from him.”

“Thanks for saying so. I always try to do my best.”

“It shows.”

There was another lull in their conversation.

“Well, I guess I’ll let you go. I just wanted to be sure you knew how much I enjoyed spending time with you this past weekend.”

“I enjoyed it, too. I hope you have a good day. Tell Richie not to work you too hard,” Cruz said.

Julia laughed lightly. “Noooo, not me. I’m not even going to think that in his direction.”

They both laughed.

“I’ll talk to you later, Julia. Take care,” Cruz said.

“I will. You, too,” she said, then ended the call. Sitting in her apartment, she looked longingly at the phone in her hand before she sighed and slid it across the coffee table before she got up to take her coffee cup into the kitchen. Maybe she’d misread Cruz. He didn’t seem too excited to hear from her, and now she felt like a fool taking the chance to call him while he was away at school.

Cruz sat at his kitchen table and looked at the phone in his hand. He thought about their conversation for only a few seconds before he called her back.

Julia looked over at her phone, ringing and vibrating on the table. She rushed over to it, and picked it up, swiping the screen to be able to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Cruz said.

“Hey,” she said hesitantly, since she still felt a little exposed from making that call and not getting the response she’d hoped for.

“After we hung up I felt like we missed something, and I had to call back.”

“What did we miss?” she asked, pretending everything was fine with her.

“You reached out. I was happy to hear from you, but neither of us said so.”

“I guess I just don’t know for sure where I stand with you. I mean, are we just friends? Because if so, that’s okay. But are you looking for more? That’s okay, too. I’m just not really sure how to approach you, or not. Is it okay for me to call when I miss you? Is it not? I just… I feel like I probably should have just left it alone and not worried about it until you did.”

“I’m glad that you called. You shouldn’t regret it, if that’s what you’re feeling. It’s all a little complicated otherwise, for me, not you. Or maybe it is for you, too.”

“Help me understand why it’s complicated.”

He grinned to himself, liking that she asked to understand rather than taking offense to him saying it was complicated. “I like you, always have. I had the best time I’ve had in a long time when we went out. You put me at ease and that means something. But I’m not home very often, and when I am, I’m always studying or doing some kind of research. I don’t really have a lot of free time. I can’t get distracted if I don’t want to lose momentum, you know? But I don’t want to pretend you’re not out there, either. So… complicated.”

Julia did a little happy dance in her living room at his confession of liking her, but didn’t reply.