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“Sure.”
“Forget it; it’s a better topic to talk about in person. By the way, how was that lunch you texted about with Leigh?”
“Lunch was fine. Ask your question.” Their relationship, such as it were, had been mostly one-sided. She had given him very little; he deserved more. “Go ahead. Ask.”
“Have you been back to Octavia’s since, you know, that night?”
Another gust of wind blew between them. She waited for it to subside to speak.
“I guess your silence answers my question.”
“Look, Octavia’s becoming a friend, a good friend, and I’ve agreed to help on the club’s security committee. There’s also a group of members going out to dinner in a few weeks, and I said I would join them. So yes, I’m involved, but not the way you’re imagining it.”
She could hear the echo of her voice breaking up with those last few words. “Are you there? Can you hear me?”
Silence followed static as their connection dropped.
It was not the best note to end on. She would try to reach him again later; maybe he would be in a better place.
She put the phone back in her bag, gathered her hair behind her head, and laid back, using the purse as a pillow.
The sun warmed her face, her arms, the rest of her body as she thought about him. His full, rich voice, his teasing smile, his spontaneous laughter, his hands. God, those hands.
Two more weeks before she could have dinner with him suddenly felt like an incredibly long time.
But you’re not ready.
A gull squawked and swooped overhead. Down the beach, a little girl ran with a kite. The light shifted. The surfers left the water and loaded their boards into a retro van.
The phone vibrated for a second against the back of her head, and she fished it out of her bag to read the new text.
Sorry, lost signal. How about we continue the conversation in person? Don't forget—Saturday in two weeks, 7 o'clock. Can't wait to see you. In the meantime, be safe.
I will, Jonathan, don't worry.
And yes, to be continued . . .
After “don’t worry,” she added the flexing bicep emoji and, at the end of the message, the face with the blushing cheeks and unguarded smile, both of which matched her own.
* * *
