Page 20 of The Keeper and I

Rolling his eyes, he read what he had. “You’re not a bother, and I was quite serious. What can I help you with?”

“Hm,” Ava said. “Are you sure you want to sound like a cashier?”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Don’t! I’m only trying to help!”

“What should I say then?”

“Make the question more casual. Like, ‘Did you need another picture or something?’ That way if that’s the case, it will take the pressure off her.”

He backspaced and typed what Ava suggested. He had to agree it was more conversational, something Ava was better at than he was.

“What are you saying?” she asked again.

“What you said.”

“In those exact words?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t do that! You wanna sound like yourself.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ava!” he cried.

“Sorry!” she replied. “I’m sorry. Look, say it however you want, just don’t hang up on me.”

“You’re on thin fucking ice.”

“Noted.”

He used Ava’s words anyway and read it back to her. With her validation, he pressed send. He started to apologize for taking so long to reply, but Ava discouraged that, saying it made him look too eager. He was more open to that sort of feedback than comments about sounding like he was in customer service. The last thing he wanted was to push a boundary with Laci.

“What do you think she…”

Jordan didn’t hear the last part of Ava’s question because a gray text bubble appeared with three blinking dots. Laci, wherever she was, was writing back that instant.

“Fucking shit!” Jordan shouted and hurled his phone clear across the room. It rocketed into a blank canvas on an easel, making everything clatter to the floor.

He took a moment to catch his breath and ignored the faint sounds of Ava’s protest coming from the speaker. Inwardly, he scolded himself. He and Laci had interacted in person. Why was the thought of a message making him nervous? Was it the intimacy of it? After all, this was an interaction no one else could see, even if he was giving Ava the play-by-play. Suddenly, he wished he wasn’t.

As he slowly made his way over to his phone, Ava’s voice got clearer and clearer. “Fucking Christ, J, if anything’s happened to you…you’d better be dead, or I’ll kill you!”

Ignoring her still, he turned the phone—screen miraculously uncracked—and looked at the message.

There. From Laci. It said:Could we meet for a coffee and talk?

He nearly threw his phone again.

“I’m here,” he finally said to Ava.

“Did something happen?” she asked.

“She’s asked me to coffee,” he told her.

Ava paused. “What? Like a date?”

“Fuck if I know.”