Chapter 9
Nine
Erin shut the door behind her and leaned against it for a long moment, letting the quiet of her apartment settle around her.
The smell of smoke still clung faintly to her clothes, woven into her hair, even though the fire was already hours behind her.
Leo padded over from the living room, tail thumping against the floor as he sat and pressed his nose into her hand.
“Hey, buddy.” She scratched behind his ears with her clean palm, then looked down at the other.
Jamie’s number was still there, smudged along the edges but clear enough to read.
Erin should’ve transferred it into her phone the second she got back.
That would’ve been the responsible thing, the professional thing.
Instead, she’d walked Leo, showered, reheated leftovers, and every time she’d caught sight of the ink, she’d found an excuse not to.
Now, with Leo sprawled against her leg on the couch, she turned her hand in the lamplight like she wasn’t sure whether to preserve it or wash it away. It had been a long time since someone had written their number on her skin. A long time since she’d let anyone.
“Get a grip,” she muttered under her breath, pulling her phone closer. Her thumb hovered over the messages app. A dozen openings flashed through her mind, each discarded as quickly as it came. Anything she typed felt either too casual or too obvious.
Finally, she settled on the safest option:
Thanks for sharing your number, let me know if you need a PIO statement for follow-up.
Her stomach twisted even as she hit send. It didn’t take long for the three dots to appear.
That’s the most boring text I’ve ever gotten. Try again.
Erin’s mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, and Leo thumped his tail like he agreed. She tapped out a response, then deleted it. Tried again. Deleted that one, too. Finally, she settled on:
It’s professional. I’m a professional.
Jamie’s reply came quickly.
Funny. Didn’t feel very professional when you let me write on your hand like a high schooler.
Erin glanced at the remnants of ink on her palm, and despite herself, she smiled.
…Point taken.
Better! Keep going, you’re warming up.
Erin laughed out loud, and Leo’s head popped up, making direct eye contact with her.
“What? She’s funny.”
Erin rolled her eyes, fully aware she was defending herself to the dog. The phone screen went dim in her hand, and she tapped it to keep it awake. She wasn’t really sure how else to respond to Jamie now; she’d never really been a big texter.
Anyway, great job with the Medford story.
You already told me that… ya know, in person at the house fire you just “showed up” to?
Erin’s cheeks flushed with heat as she dropped her head back against the couch, muttering a choice four-letter word. Her phone buzzed again in her hand, and she shot upright to look at it.
Erin?
Hey, I was just teasing. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.
Erin’s face screwed up with confusion. All she had done was simply not reply for maybe two minutes. Why was Jamie’s immediate reaction so apologetic?
No, you’re fine. I was just googling how to remove my foot from my mouth. You didn’t upset me.
Erin stared at her phone for a long while, watching the three dots bounce repeatedly before disappearing. Erin was in the middle of typing out a second text when her phone suddenly jumped to life with an incoming phone call. She looked wide-eyed at the device in her hand before looking at Leo.
“Be cool.”
Leo sighed. Erin rolled her eyes at him again, then hit the green answer button.
“Jamie?” she asked, trying to bite back the nerves in her voice.
“Hey, sorry, I just…” Jamie trailed off and took a deep breath before rushing the rest of her words out. “It felt like it would be easier to explain in person, but since you’re not here, this is the best that I can do.”
Erin listened, her confusion growing by the second, but before she could respond, Jamie jumped back in.
“Ugh. Not that I mean you should be here, like here as in my apartment. Geez, that sounds awful. I just meant that I wanted to tell you in person, but it’s too late to ask you out.” Jamie sped through her thoughts. “Fuck, again, I need to be clear I’m not asking you out. I just—”
Erin smiled as Jamie rambled on, but felt she’d let it go on long enough.
“Jamie, you’re fine. What did you want to tell me?” Silence greeted her on the other end of the line. “Jamie?”
“Sorry, I just… Wow, this is harder than I expected it to be.” Erin could hear the fear and anxiety in Jamie’s usually bright voice. “I moved to Boston because I left my hus—my ex-husband,” she corrected herself. “It’s a long story, but he used to say that I would take my joking too far.”
Erin sat with Jamie’s words for a beat. “If that’s you ‘going too far,’ then I’d say I can handle it.”
Erin heard the slow release of a breath held in too long, before a small voice said, “Really?” Erin nodded, even though she knew Jamie couldn’t see her.
“Yeah, I just don’t really text much.”
Jamie laughed, and the tightness Erin hadn’t realized she felt in her chest released.
“Okay, that explains a lot,” Jamie said through a smile.
Erin felt her cheeks heat again, but instead of shoving the feeling down, she let herself laugh alongside Jamie.
“Okay, I should let you get back to your night,” Jamie said quickly. “Thanks for, um… not hanging up on me.”
Erin smiled. “Anytime.”
Erin ended the call and set her phone on the coffee table, Leo’s head still warm against her leg. The apartment was as quiet as ever, but something in her chest felt lighter than it had in a long time. She glanced down at the faint ink still smudged across her palm and let herself smile.