Page 58 of Some Sort of Love (Happy Crazy Love 3)
“So now what?” Skylar asked, crossing her arms. “What’s the next step? Do you just keep going on dates once a week?” Her expression told me what she thought of that idea.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “We haven’t made any other plans. It’s hard because getting away is so tough for him.”
“Well then, you should go there. Hang out with him at home. Meet Scotty,” Skylar said firmly.
I lifted my shoulders. “I’ve offered, so we’ll see. I think he’s nervous about it. I’m nervous about it.”
“Of course you are,” Natalie said. “It’s more pressure than meeting someone’s parents. This is a person you’d have to live with, if things worked out. There’s a lot to consider.”
I held up my hands. “Whoa. Don’t jinx me. We have strong feelings for each other, but it’s only been a month. And I do think there’s merit in going slow.” Deep breath. “I just want to keep going forward. Somehow.”
• • •
Late that night, so late I was already in bed with the lights out, he called me again.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” His voice was low and hushed.
“Hey.”
“Did I wake you?”
“No. I’m in bed, but I wasn’t asleep yet.”
“Thinking?”
“Yeah.”
“About what?”
“About you. About last night. Truthfully, it’s been hard to think about anything else all day.”
“I’m so sorry about how it ended.”
“That isn’t what I meant, silly.” I rolled onto my side. “I was thinking about it in a good way.”
“I know. I’m still sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. One interrupted night isn’t the end of the world. It was bad luck. We can give it some time and try again.”
“Sure. I’ve been thinking about it today too…and it really was my fault.”
“What was?”
“The meltdown. Not only did I forget to pack the nightlight, but he’d had a really tough week at school. I should’ve known going off the routine was a bad idea.”
“Math again?”
“Among other things, but yes—he has a lot of anxiety about math tests, even though he can have the tests read to him, and he gets extra time.”
“I used to get nervous about math tests too. Not that my anxiety is anything like Scotty’s,” I said quickly, “but I remember the nervous feeling. And you know what my dad did?”
“What?”
I laughed at the memory, which I hadn’t thought about in years. “He gave me a lucky stone.”
“A what?”
