Chapter 15 #2
Me: I have to go to my sister’s this afternoon and do some wedding planning for Audrey. Kinda busy.
Jory: I’ve never planned a wedding, but it can’t possibly take the fifteen hours left in the day, can it?
Me: You’d be surprised at how long I can make things last. Of course, you’ll never find out for yourself. But that’s on you.
Jory:
I smile at the screen as we fall back into our normal rhythm. Thank God.
My fingers fly against the keys as I realize that, unless he’s left the house today, he probably doesn’t know that the town is talking about us.
Me: Apparently, we’re the talk of the town.
Jory: Already?
Me: My sister heard at the gas station about the little introduction, for a lack of a better word, between you and Jasper. And Gianna heard that we’re dating. So, that’s fun.
Jory: Holy shit.
Me: I warned you that word travels fast in a small town.
Jory: You weren’t kidding. Wow.
Jory: What did you say?
I bite my lip to keep from giggling as I respond.
Me: That we dated for about five minutes and then realized that we weren’t on the same page sexually.
Jory: Stop it.
Me:
Jory: You aren’t funny. I’ve imagined about a thousand different ways that last night could’ve ended, and at this point, I prefer any of them to what actually happened.
“So, wisdom, you see, is found in that crack,” Pastor Reed says, catching my attention. I look up to see him watching me. “It’s nestled down in the space between feeling an emotion and acting on it.”
Oof. He holds my gaze and then looks away. I have to wonder if the pastor has already heard the gossip, too, because this message feels very pointed.
“That’s what God is telling us here,” he says.
“Reacting too quickly in situations can lead to foolish choices. We have to pause and reflect—master our human impulses. Our Father knows we’re humans and that we struggle with these things.
That’s why He gives us a roadmap to wisdom. It’s our job to follow the map.”
I ignore my phone as it vibrates and let my thoughts wander.
There’s truth to what Pastor Reed’s saying. Last night, I reacted too quickly, and it was probably foolish. I could have waited a beat before I fired back, letting my ego do the talking.
But my conversation with Jory in the ladies’ room was unlike any that I’ve ever had before.
It wasn’t necessarily that I asked for something and didn’t get it.
I’ve not gotten what I wanted many times in my life.
And if he would’ve just flat out turned me down, I could’ve responded with something snarky and moved on.
By the time he made it to the dance floor, I would’ve been in another man’s arms.
That’s not what happened, though.
He turned me down because that’s what was best for me.
Because he’s listened to what I’ve said.
He’s paid attention to the little things.
He did what most men can never do, and that’s override their testosterone and their own sense of ego and do what feels good in the moment—especially when it’s practically undressing in front of them.
It was my ego that was the problem.
I take a deep breath and let that realization rattle around my head.
Jory just might be a damn good man.
Me: Mira just texted me and has somewhere to go with Hartley around six thirty. So I’ll be free around then.
It’s a little lie, in the house of the lord, for that matter, but hopefully he’ll give me a pass on this one.
Jory: Dinner’s at seven. Come by for dinner and math (a single dad’s version of dinner and a movie). You owe me an hour of tutoring, anyway.
Me: You turned down my best tutoring skills last night.
Jory: Don’t remind me. I’m sorry.
Me: See you at seven then?
Jory: Sounds like a plan to me.
Smiling and ignoring the warmth settling in my chest, I swipe back to the group chat and find a list of missed messages. But a new one comes in before I can even scroll to find the start of it.
Gianna: I’m watching you. Who are you texting?
Me: Mind your own business.
Gianna: As your friend, your business is my business … especially when it’s juicy.
Audrey: She might need some privacy, Gianna.
Gianna: So?
Astrid:
Astrid and I make eye contact and laugh softly.
The warmth I felt earlier spreads through my body, replacing the stress and frustration I felt when I arrived at church. These girls are what I needed this morning as much as I needed the message. They love me, support me, and are the only people outside of Lolly who never fail me.
But something prickles at the back of my brain, planting a seed that maybe Jory could be added to that list.
I shake my head, remembering the reality of this situation.
He’s only in town for a couple of months.
Then he and Gus will go back to their homes, and I may never see them again.
That sucks, as Gus would say. A lot. But it also makes the idea of crossing a few lines and making a few exceptions with Jory a little easier.
Really, it’s nothing more than a summer fling. And flings I can do. I may have started the summer looking for something more than that, but this one might be too good to pass up.
It’ll be my last venture into flingdom … if I can convince rugby boy to give it a try. And, after all, according to Sugar Creek, we are fake dating.
A smirk settles against my lips. This is going to be fun.
Because I can convince him. There’s no doubt about that.