Stay ~ Applewood Series #1

04| jesse

Closing out work for the day usually give me a sense of relief and joy, but not even heading home on a beautiful day can lift my spirits.

When I asked Abby if she was interested in anyone, I thought I had her for a second. She was blushing, smiling and didn't want to answer the question, something that has always signaled to me that a girl was at least a little interested in someone.

But she denied any interest without hesitation and the blatant rejection feels like a stab to the gut.

In my head I'm wondering if she was too embarrassed to answer because she thought I didn't feel the same way. Then again, she has to know I like her, right? Not that she would know I wait around for her messages, but I couldn't peel myself away from her last night and all my attention was towards her.

"Hey Jesse!" Nate calls to me from my right. I wave and smile back at him, stopping myself from clocking out in case he has any last minute work I need to do.

"So I've been meaning to ask about you and Abby. When did, when did that happen?" he asks and I chuckle as I continue to punch in my time card.

"Did your dad put you up to this?" As soon as I came into work, Eddie spent the greater part of the morning hounding me about Abby and how I was acting like a 'pining fool'. Don't get me wrong it was all in good humor, but good Lord the man sometimes doesn't know when enough is enough. He only stopped after being pulled away by his wife for more pressing matters.

Nate throws his head back with a laugh, his blue eyes wrinkling at the sides. "No, I've been meaning to ask you all day, but I can definitely see my dad doing something like that. He couldn't shut up about it when everyone left actually.

"My life interest him that much?" I joke.

"Not yours, Abby's. My dad has a soft spot for her, has ever since she moved here a little over a decade ago. Tom and my dad are good friends so we saw her around quite a bit."

That piques my interest. She said she never really spoke with Nate or his siblings. Why would she hide that from me? "Really? She said you guys never spoke that much."

"Well she was shy, still is I guess. But you know, all of us, Sam, Boone and I, would try to get her to play with us, but she was so timid and never really spoke back. After a while of her not responding we kind of gave up on her." He scratches his head in discomfort. "Looking back I feel guilty about it, but in our defense we were only like, nine or ten maybe? Kids that age have tunnel vision. And as we got older I guess that habit just stuck I guess."

I shrug and nod in agreement. "I get it man, don't worry, I don't think you're a horrible person now."

"Gee thanks. But anyway, when did you and Abby happen?" he asks again.

"Well, I met her my first day when your dad brought me to Chickadees. She was the cashier and, man, I thought she was the prettiest girl I've ever laid eyes on," I confess before I realize how gushy that sounds.

Nate acts like he doesn't notice how embarrassed I am and continues to look at me like he is waiting for me to continue.

"After that, I got lucky when her grandfather came by and asked if I would spend some time with her. I figured it was some kind of sign maybe, and I took the chance." I look down at the ground and run my hands through my hair. "She kind of freaked a little and cut our date short and when I asked her to come over for the barbecue last night she took almost a full day to answer, but she came. I honestly still don't know what's going on with her."

"So what happened after you left? I saw Riley chasing after her too, what was that all about?" he asks and I feel myself stiffen at his question.

If her response was different last night I wouldn't be feeling so damn uneasy at his question. Being rejected sucks, there isn't any other way to put it, and if that wasn't enough she has yet to text me back since dropping her off last night. Every notification I am jumping on my phone hoping it's Abby, but so far nothing has come from her. What makes it even harder is that I could see the same looks from Riley towards her as I was giving her, and it pissed me off. It still does to be honest.