Page 42 of Yours, For Now

"I think he bought it. Well played, Gabriel."

A gentle scoff escaped me, but I didn't correct her.

A few days later, I checked my watch and frowned. Where had the day gone? I had to leave soon for soccer, and I wasn't done with work yet.

My large computer screen shone brightly with mockery, its desktop interface broken up into several working windows. They all waited for me to continue tackling my to-do list, infinite as it was.

"Fuck," I muttered, and rubbed my hands on my face.

How had my dad done it? With two kids at home he did spend time with, and a partner who also had needs. I know he'd relied on my mom a lot; he always admitted he wouldn't be here in his business if it weren't for her. But I had only me to take care of, and I wasn't sure I could do it all.

"You look like you need help." Jake entered my office with a travel mug, which I suspected was full of coffee. He handed it to me. "So I brought you some."

I lifted the seal and took a sip. It went down like velvet and support. "Thanks. Thank you."

Jake nodded and sat across the desk from me. "Don't you have to leave for soccer soon?"

I sighed. "I might have to skip. I'm running late on things."

"That's not like you." He frowned. "I hate to ask this question but… is this new situation with Lina distracting you? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad if it's distracting you. It's just not like you."

I crossed my arms, the travel mug still in my hand, and leaned back on my chair. I'd gotten rid of my jacket a few hours ago, and my shirt wrinkled under my hand. "You're right. It's distracting me and it's not like me. I mean, that's the whole point why I haven't dated since Essie. But it's not only Lina, it's also getting the contract and the shortlist application ready— everything is making my time run away from me. Suddenly it's normal work, plus this whole other project which is huge… and Lina."

"I think we like Lina, don't we?" Jake ran his fingers through his well maintained red-blond beard.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do we? We? What do you mean?"

"Different likes, but we both do. I like her because it's fun to have someone to bug you about, and because it's healthy to relax a little sometimes. She surprised you and it's nice to see it. And you like her because…"

Someone walked past my office, and I almost switched the glass from transparent to opaque. Any witnesses would only see us chatting, so I didn't, but I did push the button that would close my door.

"It's healthy to relax a little sometimes?" I repeated. "Are you serious?"

My friend's eyes stayed on me, unaffected. "And you like her because…"

"Is this an intervention? Don't push too hard, or I'll remind you why it would be healthy for you, too."

As close as we were, we rarely talked about dating. That way he wouldn't push me to derail my plans and start dating, and I wouldn't end up pushing him to admit he had feelings for my sister. Not that I knew for sure; the one time I'd asked him about it he'd told me he didn't want to talk about it, and I'd respected it. In exchange, he didn't push me too hard on my general lack of dating. The fact that he wanted to have this conversation at all bumped against our unspoken agreement.

He lifted two hands in a conceding gesture. "Let's not go there. Let's keep this about you. I'm much more comfortable with that."

I chuckled, but tension remained in my stomach. "Of course you are."

"And it sucks for you, but your mom taught us both well. If you need an intervention, I'm making this into an intervention."

Jake had a bit of a rough childhood, and I knew he saw my parents as his parental figures. When he said my mom taught us well, he meant it. We both had the privilege of having my parents guiding us through a lot.

"I don't need one." The words pushed through my tight jaw.

"Are we sure about that, though?"

I could avoid the conversation. Tell him I was going to be late for soccer practice and that I needed to go, or that I didn't want to hear it and he would respect my words, too. It didn't feel good to reject his attempt so I didn't, but I still wasn't ready to hear what he had to say.

I tapped my fingers on the desk and made myself ready.

"Okay. Fine." I loosened my jaw. "Let it out. I'll take it under advisement."

"You better. I'm the only one of your friends seeing you stressed like this, and I've known you the longest. It's my job."