Page 59 of Just for the Plot

After a few seconds of him not responding and me on the brink of texting him again, my phone buzzes in my hand and I see that he’s calling.

Graydon.

Calling me.

I know this doesn’t happen often and that he’s not much of a talker, so I steady myself and try to remain calm as I answer.

“Hey, man, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that you’re bothering me and I don’t want you bothering me, so fucking stop it,” he growls.

Yup, saw that coming.

And yet, I can’t stop myself.

“Sorry about that, just concerned about my friend, you know? I have a sense of responsibility where she’s concerned. I need to make sure she’s safe and taken care of.”

“So why did you send her on the date?”

Because I’m a moron!

“She really wants to meet new people and I trust you. I figured you would have good judgment and that you’d set her up with someone respectful. Is, uh, is Cougar respectful?” Possibly practicing the art of celibacy at the moment?

“I mean…sure,” Graydon says, not sounding sure at all.

That’s not reassuring.

“Sure? That, uh…that doesn’t sound like you mean it, and this is my friend, Graydon. I need to make sure that you didn’t do me dirty. Did you do me dirty?”

“Where the fuck is this all coming from? You asked for a number of a complete douche. I gave you a number and then I walked away. Why the fuck are you bothering me on a Friday night?”

“Well, to be fair, you’re the one who called me.”

“Yeah, and you’re the one texting, looking for a background check on a man I barely know.”

“Ah-ha!” I say with a point of my finger. “So you admit you barely know him.”

“I never admitted otherwise,” he counters.

True, very true…

“Listen, you’re annoying the shit out of me. I want nothing to do with this. Cougar isn’t dumb. He’s not going to do something like drink and drive. I know he fucks a lot, but nothing makes me suspect that he does it without consent. So, if your friend ends up in his bed, that’s of her own volition. Got it?”

I swallow hard, my skin prickling with nerves. “Got it.”

“Good.” And then he hangs up, leaving me feeling incredibly unwell.

So unwell that I walk over to the kitchen, open up the freezer door, and plop my head in it to cool my burning skin.

And as I rest there, the bag of frozen peas practically mocking me, I wonder if I should just…give up. If all of this worrying is for nothing, because let’s be honest, would I ever really have a chance with Bower? Will she ever look at me the way that I look at her?

From how she called me a great friend in my truck before she went off to her date, I’m going to guess my chances are about as thin as the plastic holding this bag of peas together.

Buzz. Buzz.

A text!

I lift my head from the freezer, my excitement climbing.