Say You Love Me(14)

“Tap water okay?” he asked me as I followed him to the kitchen and he grabbed a glass from the cupboard. “I don’t have any bottled water.”

“Tap is fine.” I nodded. “Is it filtered?”

“I had a Brita once.” He shrugged. “I forgot to put it on the faucet.”

“Oh, okay.”

“It still tastes good though.”

“It’s fine.” I smiled. “A little water won’t kill you.”

“Maybe in South America or Africa.” He gave me a smile. “Cholera and dysentery and all that jazz. Yellow fever.”

“Uhm, yeah.” I took the glass from him and smiled. “Do you get yellow fever from water?” I asked him curiously. “I’m not a doctor or a medical person or anything, but didn’t know that yellow fever was from water.”

“To be honest, I have no clue.” He shrugged, his eyes crinkling as he looked at me. “Call Mila, will ya? And I’ll head in the shower now.”

“Okies.” I nodded and my stomach dropped as he headed out of the kitchen. What was I going to call Mila and say, and what was I going to say to him when he got out of the shower? This really didn’t seem to be going well. I wasn’t feeling any interest from Cody and in fact, I was feeling less than no interest. I was almost feeling disinterest. I pursed my lips and tried to ignore the panicky and upset feeling that was swelling through me. I felt like a loser and I didn’t understand why. What was it about me that he didn’t like? Why did he seem to hook up with so many different women, but I meant nothing to him? My heart thudded as my brain answered, “he’s not interested in you.” I held on to my glass of water and walked back to the living room and sat down. I reached for the remote control and turned the TV on to try and distract myself from my thoughts. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and responded to Mila’s text.

“How’s it going?”

“Not good. I’m going to leave. He’s not interested.”

“Sally, you’re not going anywhere. This is only phase one of the operation.”

“The operation is doomed to fail.”

“Shh.”

“Shh what? It’s true. He’s not interested.”

“What happened? Why do you think it’s going to fail?”

“Hello! He’s just not interested, Mila.”

“Right now, you’re just trying to be his best friend.”

“Dude, we’re barely friends. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be my best friend.”

“Sally. Come on, we talked about this.”

“Eh, I think I’m over it. I don’t think I can do this.”

“You haven’t done anything yet.”

“I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“It’s worth a try.”

“Is it really?” I spoke out loud as I typed. Was this really a good idea? It sounded fun and like some cute rom-com movie I’d watch on TV, but did life ever go like rom-com movies? Not really. I didn’t know anyone who was in a relationship after going through some crazy-ass schemes. I mean, even Mila’s relationship wasn’t exactly the same. She knew that TJ was interested in her from the beginning of their fake relationship, even if just for sex. She knew, at least, that he desired her and wanted her. Cody didn’t even look at me as if he wanted me. He didn’t care about me, period.

“Sally, shall I call you?”

“No,” I said and then typed. “I’ll call you later.” I put my phone back in my pocket and then leaned back into the couch and looked around the living room. Cody had no photos anywhere, which was a little surprising to me. He had four big posters on his wall depicting four different movies: The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Rocky and Fight Club. Everything about the room reminded me that he was a bachelor. Which should have made me happy, I suppose. The fact that he was still single, but I wasn’t sure that that made me feel any better. He was single and still not interested. It might have been easier for me if he were in a relationship. If he were seeing someone, I would just automatically back off. I’d be able to move on from the crush, and my feelings. Or at least that was what I told myself.

“So any news?” Cody suddenly appeared in the doorway, in just a towel, with his hair and body still wet.

“No.” I shook my head and swallowed hard. “Mila says they might not be able to make it after all.”

“Oh, okay.” He rolled his eyes. “Sounds like Mila.”

“Yeah.” I laughed, unsure what to say next.

“You sure you’re not hungry? Wanna go and grab some breakfast?” He tilted his head to the side and looked at me. “I was thinking of going for pancakes.”

“I could always go for pancakes.” I smiled, things starting to look up. “Especially if they have blueberries and chocolate chips.”

“Gross.” He laughed.

“That’s not gross.” I shook my head, just staring at his chest and a drop of water that was rolling from his pecks down to his stomach.

“Yeah, it is.” He grinned and stretched and my eyes widened as his towel slipped slightly. Shit, what if his towel fell off? Whoa, that would be amazing. Awkward, but amazing. “You okay?” he said and he stepped closer to me.