AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It took one phone call for Lennon to charm my three roommates with her sarcasm and lack of baseball knowledge. Charlie answered my phone one time when I was in the bathroom, and it got passed around the guys. Brian hasn’t shut up about talking to her again since.
“No. Get your own girlfriend.”
“Wouldn’t be fair to all the ladies who want some of this.” Brian gestures to himself.
I pretend to vomit as my phone continues to buzz. I’m worried the call is going to go to voicemail, so I pull it out of my pocket and answer. “Hey. Hold on, Brian is being…himself.”
“Hey!” Brian protests, as I forcibly shove him out of the booth. I’ve got a few inches and several pounds of muscle on him.
The front of the restaurant is crowded with people waiting for tables, and the music is loud. So I head back out into the heat, crossing the street and sitting at a bench in front of the local library.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s why I keep calling you. I never know what to expect.”
I laugh, running a hand through my hair and wishing it wasn’t still so damn warm out. “That’s the reason, huh?”
“I guess it helps that you’re hot, too.”
I sweat off the sunscreen, no matter how many times I reapply. My cheeks hurt when I smile, but I do it anyway. “At least you can admit it without freaking out, now.”
“I didn’tfreak out, that’s a massive exaggeration.”
Sometimes, Lennon and I feel a long ways from who we used to be in high school. But there are also times I miss it, when Lennon sitting across from me with peanut butter and a scowl on her face doesn’t feel that long ago.
“Whatever you say, Matthews.”
“I ran into Colt yesterday.”
I lean back against the bench. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. He hasbigplans for Saturday.”
“I’m sure he does. Jake’s influence, probably.”
“He said to answer his texts.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“He said you’d say that, too.”
I huff a laugh. “His family has a place on Palsky Lake. He wants to go up there, after his party, and stay a couple of nights.”
“That sounds fun.”
Long-distance relationships are hard. But by far the worst part about being in a long-distance relationship with Lennon is she’s hard to read. I have a difficult enough time telling what she’s thinking in person. Over the phone, it’s almost impossible.
“I don’t have to go.”
“He’s one of your best friends, Caleb.”
“Yeah, so he’ll understand if I don’t go.”
“You’ve been gone most of the summer.”
“Exactly. I miss you, Lennon.”
“I miss you too. But you can still—”
