Boyfriend #14 Jake Zeiger
Jake Zeiger, age thirty-ish
“Hey, how’s your dog?” he asked.
“Better. The vet said it was just something he ate.”
“That’s a relief, huh?” His smile was like a first kiss.
She stood there after he left, staring into the cavern of her mailbox, cold tingles passing through her body because she’d just had an Emma–loves–Mr. Knightley epiphany experience. She had just realized, “I might be secretly smitten with Jake.”
It felt like a betrayal of Tad, so she did not so much as whisper the idea to her houseplants.
After it had become excruciatingly clear that she and Tad were over, Jane remembered Jake and let herself hope that tragedy might actually be opportunity and she was meant to be with Jake all along.
She walked down the hall to 302, hope bouncing in her step.
A bedheaded Jake opened the door, squinting.
“Hi, Jake! Hey, it’s a beautiful day, and I was wondering, I noticed that you’re a runner, too, and I was wondering if you’d like to go on a run through the park, with me, maybe after—”
“You woke me up for this? It’s not even ten in the morning!”
He rubbed his face and appeared to be heading back to bed as he slammed the door.