I kind of hoped he’d just pushed her out and kept driving. Yeah, that wasn’t a side of me I appreciated.
“I came to complete stop,” he joked back.
“How nice of you.” I waited for him to continue and when he didn’t, I said, “Was there a reason for this ‘not-so-late’ night call?”
My fingers strummed against my cotton covered leg. I’ve talked to him a hundred times, yet nervous energy flowed through me.
“Yeah, to see if you’d go out with me tomorrow?”
I let the silence hang in the air before answering to picture him on the other end, not knowing what was going on in my head. “I already have plans for tomorrow.”
“With Aric?” Bam. He put it right out there. I pursed my lips together, not confirming anything. He knew, of course he knew, but I had a strict policy not to say anything to either of them. I was sticking by that rule.
He sighed, sounding a little defeated. “Okay, how about the day after?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Come on, Alyssum. Are you mad at me? I mean, we never said—”
“No. Really, I don’t know. I need to get the oil changed in my car, so I have to find a car place. My dad will kill me if I burn up the motor, especially after the antifreeze issue, and I’ve put it off too long already.”
“Really? An oil change?” The sound of him both wanting to believe my excuse and not really believing it made me smile. The oil change wasn’t an excuse, it was completely true. My car needed the attention. “Just bring it in, I’ll do it.”
“That’s okay.” I giggled, which had to put him at ease a little. “You guys are always busy; that’s why I didn’t ask. And I don’t want it to be weird.”
“Alyssum, seriously. Just bring it in and it’ll get done. Come in late afternoon. I’ll change the oil and then go home and change my clothes so we can go out. Okay?”
“If you’re sure.” I twirled a lock of hair around my finger until it cut off the circulation and the tip started to throb.
“Hey, if it’s the only way I can make sure you’re available to go out, I’ll rebuild the motor if I have to.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.”
We hung up after that and I felt much better about the situation. Although it was becoming clearer by the day that my feelings for Aric and Jensen were not equal. With all my guy ducks in a row, I was able to drift off pretty quickly.
***
I woke up the next morning rested and refreshed. I hadn’t slept that well in a long time. At some point in my sleep, I came to the realization that I had to choose soon Jensen or Aric. Which relationship did I want? Of course, the ideal answer was both, only that wasn’t exactly realistic or acceptable in most cultures. It wasn’t fair to either of them because I was growing close to both.
I passed the time by watching TV. It’d been forever since I got to just lie around and watch TV. I found I wasn’t really missing much. Reality TV pretty much sucked and that seemed to be the only thing ever on. Who wants reality when they live it every day?
I spent a lot of time forcing my hair into perfectly loose blonde ringlets and applying the right amount of make-up to enhance my features and still look natural. There’s not a lot to do as far north as I live, and with all that time to practice, I knew exactly what I was doing.
Aric picked me up in his truck. We had a great night. He fed me, which was always a plus. Without me having to tell him, he adhered to the no eating after midnight thing. The Gobel had studied us well.
Mostly, we talked more about his family. Three brothers would side with him if it came to them choosing sides. Every time we talked about what could or might happen back home, it sunk even further in just how much he was risking. Not that bringing a Gobel to The Council’s inner sanctum would leave me unscathed, but Aric was clearly risking more. My dad would never allow anything bad to happen to me and would definitely sacrifice
“I came to complete stop,” he joked back.
“How nice of you.” I waited for him to continue and when he didn’t, I said, “Was there a reason for this ‘not-so-late’ night call?”
My fingers strummed against my cotton covered leg. I’ve talked to him a hundred times, yet nervous energy flowed through me.
“Yeah, to see if you’d go out with me tomorrow?”
I let the silence hang in the air before answering to picture him on the other end, not knowing what was going on in my head. “I already have plans for tomorrow.”
“With Aric?” Bam. He put it right out there. I pursed my lips together, not confirming anything. He knew, of course he knew, but I had a strict policy not to say anything to either of them. I was sticking by that rule.
He sighed, sounding a little defeated. “Okay, how about the day after?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Come on, Alyssum. Are you mad at me? I mean, we never said—”
“No. Really, I don’t know. I need to get the oil changed in my car, so I have to find a car place. My dad will kill me if I burn up the motor, especially after the antifreeze issue, and I’ve put it off too long already.”
“Really? An oil change?” The sound of him both wanting to believe my excuse and not really believing it made me smile. The oil change wasn’t an excuse, it was completely true. My car needed the attention. “Just bring it in, I’ll do it.”
“That’s okay.” I giggled, which had to put him at ease a little. “You guys are always busy; that’s why I didn’t ask. And I don’t want it to be weird.”
“Alyssum, seriously. Just bring it in and it’ll get done. Come in late afternoon. I’ll change the oil and then go home and change my clothes so we can go out. Okay?”
“If you’re sure.” I twirled a lock of hair around my finger until it cut off the circulation and the tip started to throb.
“Hey, if it’s the only way I can make sure you’re available to go out, I’ll rebuild the motor if I have to.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.”
We hung up after that and I felt much better about the situation. Although it was becoming clearer by the day that my feelings for Aric and Jensen were not equal. With all my guy ducks in a row, I was able to drift off pretty quickly.
***
I woke up the next morning rested and refreshed. I hadn’t slept that well in a long time. At some point in my sleep, I came to the realization that I had to choose soon Jensen or Aric. Which relationship did I want? Of course, the ideal answer was both, only that wasn’t exactly realistic or acceptable in most cultures. It wasn’t fair to either of them because I was growing close to both.
I passed the time by watching TV. It’d been forever since I got to just lie around and watch TV. I found I wasn’t really missing much. Reality TV pretty much sucked and that seemed to be the only thing ever on. Who wants reality when they live it every day?
I spent a lot of time forcing my hair into perfectly loose blonde ringlets and applying the right amount of make-up to enhance my features and still look natural. There’s not a lot to do as far north as I live, and with all that time to practice, I knew exactly what I was doing.
Aric picked me up in his truck. We had a great night. He fed me, which was always a plus. Without me having to tell him, he adhered to the no eating after midnight thing. The Gobel had studied us well.
Mostly, we talked more about his family. Three brothers would side with him if it came to them choosing sides. Every time we talked about what could or might happen back home, it sunk even further in just how much he was risking. Not that bringing a Gobel to The Council’s inner sanctum would leave me unscathed, but Aric was clearly risking more. My dad would never allow anything bad to happen to me and would definitely sacrifice
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