Page 23 of Forever Only Once

“Pushing me in this direction might not be the best idea,” I said honestly.

“Or maybe it will be the best one ever. Either way, don’t give up hope. Maybe text him yourself.”

I shook my head and said goodbye to Paris, not sure if I would reach out or not. I had more important things to worry about today.

It didn’t matter that I kept thinking about Cross’s smile or the way his hands had felt on mine.

I shook my head. I have work to do.

I finished up another set of office hours and then did some work on my research until it was time to head home. I had a slight headache, mostly because while I loved numbers, they sometimes didn’t love me back. Plus, I had been stupid and hadn’t worn my reading glasses until about an hour into my day.

I was still getting used to the fact that I had to wear reading glasses, even though I wasn’t reaching the age that my mother was when she got hers.

I frowned, wondering why I’d even thought about that. It’d been a while since I’d thought about my parents. The fact that Cross had asked about them during our date had surprised me, though it really shouldn’t have. People always asked about families. They inquired about that, work, and friends. That was just how dating worked. Simply because I was out of practice didn’t mean I didn’t remember the rules.

I made it home, pulled into my garage, and shut the big slider before I even opened the car door. I had my pepper spray in my hand as I slid out of the vehicle and made my way to the entrance to the house.

I didn’t even realize I was doing it most days. It was just something that I was used to now.

I couldn’t help it. When you went through what I did, sometimes, the way you moved, even around your own home, meant that you didn’t feel safe. Finding any way to create that feeling of safety was important.

I checked the security on the house and then made sure that everything was locked before setting down my bag and going to pour myself a glass of wine. It had been a long day, and I was tired.

Besides, a single glass of wine at night was good for your heart, right?

The studies on that changed daily, but I was going with it.

I had just taken my first sip when my phone buzzed. I frowned, looking at it.

It was probably one of the girls, wanting to know more about Cross or telling me exactly what was going to happen next with our plan.

I didn’t know if I wanted to go through that anymore. It already hadn’t turned out the way we expected, and I had a feeling that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

When I looked down at the cell, I saw that it wasn’t one of the girls.

My heart sped up, and my hands dampened. Oh.

Oh.

Cross: Hey there. Sorry it took me a while to text you. I’m really not good at this. I overthought it the whole damn time.

Cross: I probably shouldn’t have said that.

Cross: Or cursed.

Cross: Sorry.

My shoulders sagged, and I grinned. Honestly, he couldn’t have said anything better. He had said the perfect damn thing.

Because I wasn’t good at this either.

Me:I was thinking that I wasn’t very good at this either. So, hi.

That was good, right? I didn’t want to overthink it. I tried my best to not overthink things during our one evening together. This would just have to be the same.

Cross: I wasn’t even sure you would want to hear from me. Then my sister said if I didn’t text you, I would be an ass.

Me: You talked to your sister about us?