Leave me alone!” I yelled. “I was top of our
class! I beat you how many times?! And you call
me stupid?”
He seized the opportunity and pushed his way.
in, pinning me against the wall. “Why is your
phone off?” “Oh, the battery died, so I turned it
off,” I lied poorly. He didn’t believe me. “Lynn,
your eyes dart around when you lie. Don’t try to
fool me.” His voice softened. “You seem less
confident than you used to be. Before, you
would have grabbed my arm, all proud and
defiant, and told everyone you were mine.”
I avoided his gaze, afraid of the disappointment
I might see. “I’ve never been confident… with
you.” I confessed, words I’d buried for years.
From the moment we mot I know how nonular
someone you adore. “Especially when everyone
thinks I’m a gold digger who abandoned you.
What right do I have to be with you?” Especially
now that he was at the top of his game. I felt
like I’d never catch up.
Jason kissed the corner of my mouth. “But I
know you had your reasons. I’ve been waiting
for you.” His eyes locked with mine. “Lynn, I
love you. Please… have a little faith in me,
okay?” Understanding dawned. I finally knew
what he’d tried to say at the beach. He’d
worked so hard to become the right person, to
earn his place in my future. I didn’t need to
worry about him not loving me. I just needed to
trust him.
He explained everything. He hadn’t written
those tweets. That morning, as he was leaving,
his mom had asked to borrow his phone. He
–
couldn’t refuse her she’d raised him single-
handedly. He never imagined she’d give his
phone to someone else. That someone was the
woman from the phone call. Her name was
Molly. She was about his age, and, as he later
learned from his mom, had gone to our high
school. Molly had tweeted those things, logged
out of his account, and blocked my number. He
hadn’t realized what happened until much later,
when his assistant showed him the social media
frenzy. He’d tried to contact me, but couldn’t
reach me, so he tracked down a mutual friend
to get my address. He’d flown back and rushed
straight to my apartment.
Looking at his exhausted face, I felt a pang of
guilt. “Why don’t you get some sleep in my
room?” He tightened his grip on my arm. “Will
you stay with me?” It wasn’t much to ask. I
agreed without hesitation.
He slept soundly. When he woke up the next
morning, past nine, he blinked sleepily and
murmured, “This is nice.” I stirred beside him.
“What is?” He kissed my cheek. “Holding you.
It’s nice.” Sunlight streamed through the
window illuminating his fann We shared a clow
<
window, illuminating his face. We shared a slow,
tender kiss.
- 8.
We kept our relationship quiet for a while. No
matter how busy he was, Jason always made
time for me, even if it was just for a quick hug. I
told him he didn’t have to come see me so
often, that I wasn’t going anywhere. He’d
always say, “Can’t a guy recharge after a long
day at work?” Our relationship was definitely
heating up. I was even teasing him now. “You
recharge a little too often.” He saw me almost
every day, or every few days if his schedule was
impossible. Often, he’d just hold me for a few
minutes before rushing off to catch a flight. “That’s just how I am,” he’d say. “I need to see
you. I’ll short–circuit if I don’t.”
