Something In Between: Sequel to On The Edge of Tomorrow

Chapter 24

The brief interaction with Billy made my mind a jumble of emotions and incomplete thoughts. If Billy's voice could soothe me and scramble me this much, what would it be like when he was within blocks of me? Panic ebbed and flowed through my body with every inhale and exhale. It was just barely 5 pm, but I couldn't hold out any longer. I needed to talk to Sam.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, babe. Miss me?"

"Yes." I finally felt like I could breathe. I did miss him. I'd been missing him all afternoon.

"I'm sorry. Tomorrow, I'll be home." There was an edge of concern in his voice. "Are you at my place?"

"No, mine." I laid back on my bed.

"You can stay at mine if it helps," he offered.

"I may end up there; your bed is much more comfortable."

"Tell me about it." He let out a laugh.

"Hey, so you know my friends Tess and Tim?"

"Tess, dress picker extraordinaire. Yeah, they ring some bells." His toying voice was welcoming.

"They're going to be in town a week from Saturday. I was hoping you'd be free to meet them." Shyness crept into my tone.

"Ah, a week from Saturday." I could hear the torn pitch in his voice. He had plans. "Were you thinking about lunch or dinner?"

"Lunch," I quickly answered.

"Oh, that'd be perfect. I have a surprise for you that night, but we'd be able to do lunch." Relief saturated his voice.

"A surprise? I want to know now!" I teased in my best Veruca Salt voice.

"Well then, it wouldn't be a surprise," he teased.

"Ugh, fine. But I can confirm lunch?"

"Confirm away. Hey, I'm in an Uber and pulling up to my hotel. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I love you."

"Love you too," and he was gone.

I laid back on my bed and let the lingering comfort of a plan wash over me. As much as Billy tore me apart, Sam and his dependability calmed me. After a few minutes in the post-Sam stupor, I gathered my things and headed to his place.

The days slipped by in a blur of final thesis papers. I spent more time at the library than at Sam's and my place combined. Before I knew it, Sam and I were heading out to meet Tess and Tim for lunch. The nerves of Sam meeting them had dissipated to excitement. I wanted to pull Sam deeper into my life, which meant him meeting my friends.

"Tell me again why we're going to Green Elephant?" Sam murmured as I clutched his arm to avoid slipping on the ice patches that littered the Portland sidewalk.

"Because it's good and will annoy Timmy," I reminded him again.

"And you make decisions to annoy your best friend?" He continued.

"I do."

"This should be interesting. And you're also the only one that calls him Timmy?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm sure he'd let Tess, but I've never heard her call him Timmy."

"Well, I'm sure this entire event will entertain me." Sam smiled down at me.

"Oh, I know it will. Tim is hilarious, and Tess is the sweetest girl in the entire world."

"Oh, I don't know about the sweetest," he murmured as he kissed my temple.

We got there first, which wasn't surprising since Tess was always running late and, therefore, always making Tim late. If it were anyone else, it'd drive Tim crazy, but Tess got away with everything. Sam and I settled into a table, and I tucked myself under his arm to stay warm from the cold air that came in each time the door opened.