AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, how’s it going?” Dad asks as soon as he answers.
“It’s, um, going.”
“That doesn’t sound good...”
“I think I messed up,” I admit. I need to talk to someone, and my dad is the only person I can think of that will help me rationalize.
My friends and teammates would just praise me for making a move...
And right now, I need someone who understands.
“Messed up what? Your therapy”
“No.” I groan. “With Nila.”
“Oh,” he says and then pauses. “I had no idea—”
“You know I like her.”
“Yeah, I just wasn’t sure if it was going anywhere. What happened?”
“I kissed her. Well, she kind of initiated it. I tried to kiss her on a hike the other day, and she turned me down—said it was unprofessional. But then tonight, we shared a moment. I kissed her and we haven’t really talked since.”
“Take a deep breath.” He laughs, and I know he’s probably shaking his head at me. “There’s no need to panic.”
“She’s been in the bathroom for over an hour, and I don’t know if I messed something up with her. I don’t want her to leave.” I can feel my anxiety building and it only makes things worse. I begin to pace in the grass.
“Just talk to her about it.”
“I don’t want to make things worse by talking about it.”
Dad sighs. “Talking is the only way to fix this. And maybe she’s been mulling it over just like you are. You don’t know unless you talk to her. Son, please don’t stop communicating. It’ll just make it worse.”
“Okay, okay,” I say, glancing toward the door. As I do, I catch sight of her shadow in the window. “Thanks, Dad. I gotta go.”
“Hey, wait,” he says quickly. “You haven’t told me how the rest of it is going.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” I say, rushing to get off the phone as the cabin door opens. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you. Bye.”
“Love you.” He chuckles as I hang up and see Nila standing in the doorway.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she says carefully, eyeing the phone in my hand. “I just wanted to check on you.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” I force a smile. “My dad called. He was interested to know how the program was going.”
She nods, though I have no idea if she actually buys it. “So ... um... I actually was hoping we could talk.”
“Me, too.” I shove my phone in the pocket of my flannel pajama pants. “I think we should talk.”
“I agree.”
“Okay.” I follow her back into the living room, my heart pounding so hard I feel it in my ears. I’ve never been this nervous to talk to a woman before, but maybe it’s because I already know what she’s going to say.
“I think you should sleep in the bed,” Nila blurts out, her words completely unexpected.
“You know I’m not going to let you sleep on the floor,” I retort.
She nods slowly. “I know...”
