Life In Reverse(80)

“All right, bro, I’m off to catch some prime morning waves. But call me later in the week, otherwise I’m going to hunt you down.” Someone shouts his name and his voice becomes muffled. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Later.” I hit end and come face-to-face with Chris’s smug grin.

“You’ve got it barreling at you from all s-sides. Don’t you feel loved?” I frown at his choice of words and he grasps my shoulder, shooting me an empathetic smile. “Okay, wrong thing to say. But she’ll call. Just give her some time.”

Time is all I have.





“ALL RIGHT, LARRY. The Cisco firewall is up and running and all the Windows workstations are networked to the new server we installed. Chris handled setting up the network for the space on the first floor so you should be all set.”

Larry extends his hand to shake mine. “You two are like the dream team. Which reminds me.” He removes the wallet from his pocket and hands me a business card. “One of my old colleagues has a start-up and needs some advice with respect to network security and clouds,” he scratches his head, “I think, anyway. I don’t know all the details, but I did tell him that you’d be a fantastic resource.”

“Great. Thanks, Larry. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.” He slides his wallet back into the pocket of his suit jacket then checks his watch. “I’d like to buy you two some dinner.” He glances at the time again and shakes his head. “But considering I’ve missed dinner every day this week, the wife isn’t going to be too happy if I add another night to my list of travesties. I might be endangering my credit card limit.”

“No worries.” I laugh. “I get it.”

My phone rings and I excuse myself from our conversation to scoop it up from a nearby cubicle. “Hello?” Silence greets me at the other end of the line, but I vaguely hear soft breathing. My heart skyrockets in my chest and I say a silent prayer. “Ember?”

A heavy sigh and then, “Yeah. Hi.”

“Hey… I… I’m glad you called.” I take a seat on the swivel chair in front of the desk. “I wasn’t sure if you would,” I admit, blowing out a nervous breath. Fuck, this is hard. “I need to see you.” She gives me nothing but more silence and my jaw clenches. I roll a pencil back and forth over the desk, waiting for her to respond.

“I don’t know… if that’s a good idea.” The uncertainty in her voice is stifling and I know I’m the cause of it, which only makes me more determined to remedy the situation. “Can’t we just talk now?”

“No. I want to do this in person. Please, Ember. Can we meet up?” My tone reeks of desperation, but I don’t really give a shit because that’s exactly how I feel. “I promise it won’t take long.”

A lingering pause and then a sigh. “Okay. Where do you want to meet?”

Relief and anticipation fill my lungs and I smile. “How about The Comfort Diner at East Forty-Fifth Street. Do you know it?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay.” I glance at the time on the desktop. “How about we meet at six? Would that work?”

She squeaks her response. “Tonight?”

I want to tell her I think I’ve waited long enough. But instead I reply with a firm “Yes.”

“Okay, I guess so.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.” She hangs up without saying goodbye, but I try not to read into it too much. It’s been a whole lot of time without any explanation—and I have a lot of f*cking explaining to do.

Chris shows up carrying a stack of computer equipment. “Hey, I’m all set d-downstairs. You want to head out and grab a bite to eat?” He stops when he sees my expression. I must be grinning like a f*cking idiot. “She called.”

“She did.”

He throws the Cat5 cables, an old Buffalo file server, and a few SSD drives into a box. “So should I gather I’m going it alone for d-dinner?”

“You don’t have to. You could ask someone out.” I slide my laptop in the bag and pick up the last of my tools off the desk.

Chris leans against the wall of the cubicle, arms crossed over his chest. “I could, but I won’t.”

Setting my bag on the carpet, I turn to face him. “Why the f*ck not?”

He answers me with a shrug, staring at the floor. “B-because, you know I get nervous, and then I end up stuttering more. What girl wants that?”

His words incite a riot in my chest. “The right girl. That’s who. You just have to find her. Now come on,” I smack his arm, “let’s get the hell out of here. Because I’m going to find mine.”





TAXIS SKID TO a screeching halt as shoes click against the pavement. The sharp whistle of trucks making deliveries, the shouts of street vendors trying to sell everything from portraits to purses. All of it fades into the background, overpowered by the thoughts swamping my brain. The concentration it takes to will my feet to keep moving—to remind myself to breathe.

Street signs indicate only two more blocks separate me from my past. My heart picks up speed and I tell it to slow down, but it’s a stupid heart and it doesn’t listen.

Troy’s words from our conversation last night stick in my head—‘give him a chance, love.’ His tone that always puts me at ease and then, ‘you know you want to.’ I wish the people close to me didn’t know me so well.