AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Time apart?” she gasped, already shaking her head to nix that idea.
But I nodded. “Look. Do you like this girl or not?”
“Yes! You know I do.”
“And do you want to keep her?”
“Dammit, yes.”
“Then, I understand that you need to prove to her that she’s important to you. We spent the last few years apart. What’s another few weeks or months or however long she needs? Whenever she finally feels secure with you,thenyou can start gradually introducing me back into the picture.”
“Okay…okay,” she answered, nodding before she looked down at the phone and then lifted it with shaking hands. “Wish me luck.”
15
OAKLYNN
After Jaylani ended her call with Scarlett, our trip to the beach was basically over.
“I still can’t believe I have to stay away from you for who knows how long,” she whined as she drove me home. “There were so many places around town that I still wanted to show you.”
I shrugged. “It’s not forever. And if it helps your relationship, then it’s worth it.”
“But what if it doesn’t?” she asked, sending me a worried glance.
“Then…” I shook my head. “You’ll know for certain that it wasn’t just me causing all this unrest between you, and it’s really her, which is something you should learn, anyway. So win-win. And you’ll still get me back after it’s all said and done, no matter what.”
“I feel like I’m just abandoning you in a foreign town that you don’t know, though.”
“Oh please. I’ve been here nearly two months now. I’m learning my way around just fine, meeting new people every day, and I really should keep my focus on my grades. A little separation from you might be exactly whatIneed, too.”
“Hey, you’re not supposed to make me feel completely unnecessary,” Jay scolded as she pulled into the parking spot next to my Forte.
I laughed. “You’re needed, trust me.” Leaning over, I opened my arms for a hug. “I’ll see you when I see you, ‘kay?”
“Okay,” she mumbled and hugged me back. “Just don’t go getting a new best friend until then.”
“Never,” I swore. After a quick kiss on her cheek, I opened the door and climbed out. “Love you.”
“Yeah.” Jaylani sent me sad puppy eyes through the front windshield and watched me all the way to the back door. Then she waited until I’d unlocked it and stepped inside before she began to back out of the drive.
I finally let my brave face fall as I stood in the open doorway and watched her leave. A hopeless depression swamped me. I already missed her. We’d even agreed not to text for a while unless it was an emergency, which felt all kinds of wrong. Even when we’d lived six hours apart, with me in Dallas and her here, we’d still been able to talk or text whenever we wanted to.
Feeling as if my foundation had just been ripped out from under me, I slumped inside and stowed away my beach bag before trudging up the stairs and taking a long, consoling shower to get all the sand and surf water off me.
When I turned off the faucet, I could hear muted noises from below, telling me a television was on.
Encouraged by the idea that Thalia was home, I hurried to towel off and put on something comfortable to lounge around the apartment in and left my room to head downstairs.
“Howdy!” my roommate greeted cheerfully from the couch, where she sprawled in a comfy but cute outfit that almost mirrored the exact same thing I was wearing. Tank top, shorts, bare feet.
“Hey,” I returned casually. “You’re already back from who-knows-where after doing who-knows-what with who-knows-who.”
She grinned in amusement. “I am.”
“Sweet,” I said. “It’s actually good to see you. How’ve you been?”
“Ah…mazing,” she said, tilting her face toward me in invitation. “I was just watchingPitch Perfect.Want to join?”
