Maybe Someday(103)

and I had lunch with her yesterday.”

I fall back against my chair, slightly annoyed

that he didn’t tell me this but relieved to know

she’s not holed up in her apartment, devastated.

“Has she asked about me? Does she know

about Maggie and me?”

He nods. “She knows. She asked how things

went with the two of you, so I told her the truth.

She hasn’t brought it up since then.”

Jesus Christ. Knowing that she knows the truth

should relieve my worry, but it only intensifies it.

I can’t imagine what she must think about my

lack of communication with her now that she

knows about Maggie. The fact that I haven’t con-

tacted her at all probably has her believing I

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blame her. I lean forward and look pleadingly to

Warren.

“Please, Warren. Tell me where she lives.”

He shakes his head. “Give me my keys.”

I shake my head.

He rolls his eyes at our matched stubbornness

and pushes himself away from the table, then

storms off to his room.

I open my texts to Sydney, and begin scrolling

through them as I do every single day, wishing I

had the courage to text her. I’m afraid it will be

easier for her to shut me out through a text than it

would be if I were to show up at her front door,

which is why I haven’t texted her. Despite the

fact that I don’t want to agree with Warren, I

know that nothing good will come from my con-

tacting her. I know we’re not in a place to start a

relationship, and seeing her in person would only

exacerbate how much I miss her. However,

knowing what I should do and abiding by what I

should do are two completely different things.

? ? ?

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My light flicks on. Seconds later, my shoulders

are being violently shaken. I smile through the

grogginess, knowing by Warren’s presence alone

that I’ve got him right where I want him. I turn

over and look up at him.

“Something wrong?” I sign.

“Where are they?”

“Where are what?”

“My condoms, Ridge. Where the hell did you

hide my condoms?”

I knew that if stealing his keys didn’t work,

then stealing his condoms would. I’m just glad he

thought to put on shorts before leaving Bridgette

in his bed and storming into my room.

“You want your condoms?” I sign. “Tell me

where she lives.”

Warren runs his palms over his face, and from

the looks of it, I think he’s groaning. “Forget it.

I’ll go to the store and buy new ones.”

Before he turns to walk out of my room, I sit

up on the bed. “How do you plan on driving to

the store? I have your keys, remember?”

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He pauses for a second, and then his face re-

laxes when he’s hit with a new epiphany. “I’ll

take Bridgette’s car.”

“Good luck finding her keys.”

Warren stares at me hard for several seconds,

then finally slumps his shoulders and turns to-

ward my dresser. He grabs a pen and paper and

writes something down, wads it up, and throws it

at me. “Here’s her address, *. Now, give

me my keys.”

I unfold the paper and double-check to make

sure he actually wrote an address down. I reach

behind my nightstand, and grab his box of con-

doms, and toss it to him.

“That should do you for now. I’ll tell you

where your keys are after I confirm that this is

really her address.”

Warren pulls one of the condoms out of the

box and tosses it at me.

“Take this with you when you go, because

that’s definitely her address.” He turns and leaves

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the room, and no sooner is he gone than I’m up

and dressed and heading out the front door.

I don’t even know what time it is.

I don’t even care.

Chapter Twenty Three

Sydney

Sound triggers.

They happen a lot, but mostly when I hear cer-

tain songs. Especially songs Hunter and I both

loved. If I listen to a song during a particularly

depressing period, then hear it later on down the

road, it brings back all the old feelings associated

with that song. There are songs I used to love that

now I absolutely refuse to listen to. They trigger

memories and feelings I don’t want to experience

again.

My text tone has become one of those sound

triggers.

Namely, Ridge’s text tone. It’s very distinct, a

snippet from the demo of our song “Maybe

Someday.” I assigned it to him after I heard the

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song for the first time. I’d like to say that sound

trigger is a negative one, but I’m not so sure it is.