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Chapter 41
Troy took a huge, satisfying bite out of his sausage, egg, and cheese croissant and followed it up with a sip of rich, hot food truck coffee.
Jett took his own cup of coffee from Fred, the food truck owner, and stepped over to join him. He gestured to the greasy, fragrant sandwich with his chin. “I think that’s what women call ‘eating your feelings,’ my man.”
“It’s my drug of choice and I won’t apologize. I didn’t ask you to swing by on my break.”
“Fair enough.”
“Just don’t give me crap about it until I’m finished. I want to enjoy it.”
Jett sipped his coffee in silence until Troy had swallowed the last bite of his breakfast sandwich and then slapped him on the back. “When is Alison coming back?”
Troy snorted. “What makes you think it’s got anything to do with that?”
Jett smirked. “So. When does she get back?”
Troy narrowed his eyes. “So, what? You drew the short straw and became the designated brother to come talk to me?”
“This is coming off like a serious attempt not to answer the question.”
Troy exhaled and his shoulders slumped. “She’s staying an extra week.”
Jett nodded. “Why?”
“There’s this fundraiser thing. A three-night series. She’s filling in for some opera person. I don’t really know the whole story. She left it on my voicemail.”
“Well, what did she say when you called her back?”
Troy just stood there silently, feeling more and more sheepish as the seconds ticked by and Jett just stared.
Finally, Jett shook his head. “So you decided the best thing to do was just not call her back?”
Troy sighed. “I think calling it ‘decided’ is generous. I just tried to call her back a few times and couldn’t figure out what I’d say.”
“So you just didn’t.”
“Hell, dude. It sent me spinning when she was just flying down for a dinner. Now she’s staying for an extra week to do shows? I just…fuck. With every step I see her moving further and further away. Who am I kidding? Valentine Bay is a blip for her. A vacation spot. She was never going to stay. I was an idiot to fool myself into thinking she might.”
Jett was silent for another moment before speaking. “So, you got all of that from your non-conversation, huh? Quick question—would you say those conclusions were based more on the imaginary things you said in this non-existent conversation, or her imaginary responses?”
Troy had to laugh. “Fine, fine. I get it. I’m being an idiot. I’ll call her back.”
Jett put his hands up in front of him. “Hell, no. That’s the last thing you should do.”
“What are you talking about? What has this whole lecture been about then?”
“Look, I do think the mature thing to do would be to call her back and have a rational discussion. But since you don’t seem to be either mature or rational at the moment, maybe the best thing to do would be to wait until you’re one or both before you talk to her.”
Troy looked down at his coffee cup. “Shit. That bad, huh?”
Jett laughed. “Pretty bad, my man.”
Troy threw out his now empty coffee cup and turned back to Jett. “This is one of those if you love someone, let them go things, right? If she loves me, she’ll come back?”
Jett shook his head. “Nah. Not let her go. Doesn’t need to be that dramatic. Just…if you love her, let her be. She might stay for a while, she might go for a while, and then she might stay for a while more. You fell in love with a butterfly. Don’t freak out when she wants to flutter, dude. That’s who she is.”
Troy tilted his head to the side. “The hell?”
Jett shrugged. “I’ve watched a lot of hungover daytime TV when I was partying. Doesn’t mean it’s not good advice.”
Troy nodded, acknowledging the truth of that. That’s when it occurred to him—the ultimate way to stop being an idiot and prove to Alison he was worthy of being her man. A real man, not an idiot.
“Jett, can you meet up with me after I get off work? And see if the guys can come. I have an idea about Alison. But I’m going to need some help.”
