Love at First Spark

15 | October: Conference Call, part 2

"Are you going over to see him again?" Dex asked a few weeks later. When I dropped him off at the airport after Labor Day weekend, he promised me—really promised this time—that we would video chat more often.

"Yes." I punctuated the word with the pull of a sweater over my head. "I thought you'd be happy for me."

Dex ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "It's not that, because I am happy for you, Ames. It's just that when I told you to say yes to him I didn't expect—" he bit his lip, pausing mid-sentence.

I narrowed my eyes. "No. No, don't you dare tell me you never expected it to take up more time in my life because you and I barely talk. You want to know the only reason we're talking right now? Because I made you promise me when you went back to California."

"Yes, but—"

"And how many times have you canceled on me so far?" I demanded.

"Three, but—"

"Exactly. So you have no excuse." I was yelling at this point, but I didn't particularly care.

"Amelia, just stop." Dex scowled at me through the computer screen. "We can't keep doing this, okay? You have to let go of this anger you have at me for leaving. Because this is my life that I'm living. It's time you lived yours too."

Before I could protest—or even tell him he was right—the screen went dark. My heart sank. So much for being supportive. I kicked myself; I did this all on my own. Dex never did anything wrong, and friendship worked both ways.

I could still feel his breath on my neck from the night we hooked up after my date with Braden. And yet, no matter how much I tried to feel the same euphoria with Dex that I felt anytime I was with Braden, there was nothing.

There was nothing left for romance with me and Dex but the smoke from a diffused sparkler.

When I went to open the door a little while later to head out to my car, bag on my shoulder, I ran right into Braden who stood with his fist raised to knock on the door and a six-pack of beer in the other hand.

"Hey. I thought I was coming over tonight, not the other way around," I said, letting him into the apartment out of the cold. Ever since it had hit October, Portland weather decided to catch up on matching the month. Grey skies and wind greeted me behind Braden.

"Surprise?" he offered weakly, letting out a chuckle. "Thought you might want to stay in because it's supposed to snow tonight."

"Oh good idea." I led him into the living room where the table was covered in papers from school. Before I had been talking to Dex, I was looking over lesson plans and figuring out how to teach my students about the planets.

Like, how does one go from My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies to My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos? You just can't downgrade, like that!

"Can't believe they're making you ignore Pluto as a planet," Braden commented. "Back in my day..."

I snorted. "Back in your day, huh? Yeah, it's quite a shame, but we gotta follow the curriculum. Although, I have ways to sneak it in." I walked over to the kitchen to find the bottle opener and popped the top off one of the beers before collapsing onto the sofa next to Braden. "So, you wanted to spend the night in, hmm?"

Braden grinned. "Lucy is with her mom this weekend, giving me a few days off plus Linda had that business trip the other week so I had her for a bit extra time. Man, if she doesn't love spending that time together."

I sipped my beer in silence. We'd made Lucy and Linda an "off-limits" topic for our relationship, so whenever Braden brought them up I didn't really know how to respond. The only time it became allowed to discuss was when I had to keep bothering Braden about the parent-teacher conference which we'd been finally able to schedule for the following Monday.