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Colby chuckled. The one big thing that she and Napper didn’t share in common was proper spelling and punctuation. In the grand scheme of things, she could handle that. Even just getting his replies made her feel instantly better. She wasn’t alone.
Sewzy:Seriously. I quit my job and have been housesitting for a friend.
Sewzy:They were supposed to come back in May, but now they’re coming back in THREE WEEKS.
Napper:Wow! I’m so sorry. That’s crazy
Napper:How can I help?
Biting her lip, she sent a message that felt risky, but thrilling. What did she have to lose, really?
Sewzy:Maybe for our first date we can go apartment hunting.
There was a break where he didn’t respond. Panic seized her. Was that too forward? Did he still want to go on a first date? She reread her message and gasped, realizing it sounded like she meant the two of them moving in together.
Sewzy:I didn’t mean for US! I just meant for ME. I need to look for an apartment. For me. Alone.
Sewzy: Oh, gosh. You think I’m some kind of crazy stalker now who wants to move in with someone she’s never met.
Napper:Crazy stalkers are just my type
Napper: I knew what you meant btw
Napper:Happy to look at apartments with you if you need. Probably should buy you dinner first. ;)
Sewzy:Except I probably have to get a place sooner. Ugh. Two more weeks?
Napper:16 days. And counting. Maybe just dinner then. Do you like board games? Dinner and a board game in a coffee shop or something
Sewzy:Sounds like a perfect first date.
Her cheeks heated. It was so much easier to flirt without a guy right in front of her. But when she stopped to think about this, it was terrifying. She’d put so much of her heart on the line through this app and these messages to this person she didn’t even know. Was this connection as real as she felt it was? Would it translate into a real relationship once they actually met in person?
She thought of Nate and how missing that one date had sent her into a tailspin that she obviously still hadn’t recovered from. She was crazy to put her feelings on the line again and put her trust in some guy whose face she’d never seen.
“I’m a total idiot who never learns,” Colby said out loud. “And who talks to herself. I’m going to be a crazy cat lady, without the cats.”
The thought of a cat-less crazy cat-lady got her giggling until she was laughing out loud. Maybe it was just the heightened emotions and stress of it all, but it felt so good to let loose. Even if everything around her was falling apart.
* * *
Nate had stopped running on the treadmill to answer Sewzy’s messages. He had been standing there long enough for the machine to reset. Sweat dripped down on the machine, but he didn’t care.
Colby wasn’t married. She didn’t have kids.
She was housesitting.
The relief he felt reading her messages was better than the endorphins that rushed through his body during a run. He stood there, sweating and grinning like an idiot. No one ever seemed to really look at other people in the gym, which was one of the things that made it a sort of sanctuary for him. He could work out, but he could also be invisible. Just a normal guy like any other guy in there. Not some guy dealing with anxiety.
It only took a few seconds for his relief to morph into worry. She wasn’t married, but she was furious with him. She might be even madder when she found out that he was basically lying to her by not telling her that he was Napper.
It was all going to come crashing down. He hadn’t thought it through when he started talking to her on the app. He was just thrilled to maybe get another chance. Now that he had run into Colby in real life, the whole secret identity thing seemed so childish.
What he should have done was call her back four years ago. If he’d told her the truth then, at least he would know her response to his anxiety disorder. Or he could have contacted her when he discovered her profile. Now he would have to deal with how he had behaved back then and the way he had started talking to her on the app in secret. This was all going to blow up in his face.
On the plus side, the background bot wasn’t broken.
Nate texted Zane and Todd next, hoping they wouldn’t be too mad that he wasted their time.
