per·sua·sion

29.

Jessica

• Two weeks later •

"Are we going to argue about this again?" I say quietly, glancing down, trying to avoid this conversation or, shall I say, fight yet again for what feels like the tenth time this week.

"We wouldn't be if you would just come down here. I mean, damn, Jess, it's been almost three weeks. I wanna see you."

"I'm right here" I make a funny face trying to lighten the mood.

"You know what I mean," he rolls his eyes, "I'm tired of looking at you through a screen. I wanna kiss you and touch you, god do I wanna touch you" he bites his lip, and I can help but smile at his words.

"I want that too, but I told you I can't afford it, and you know I'm terrified when it comes to flying."

"I told you I'd pay for it; come on, flying isn't as bad as you think nothing will happen to you."

"No, Hero, it's s a ridiculous amount of money for me just to go sit in a hotel room."

"So you'd rather sit in you're room instead? Theirs no difference, Jessica."

"Stop being such an—"I stop taking a breath; who would have thought I'd be the calm one in this situation.

"So now I'm an ass because I prefer to have you here with me instead of sitting in your room?" I can hear him getting more and more frustrated.

"That's not what I meant. Quit acting like this isn't hard on me, too damn excuse me for not being some groupie and taking your money. You know I want to be there just as bad as you want me there."

"Yeah, well, you don't act like it."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

"Exactly what it sounds like," he shrugs. "I gotta go."

"Hero, don't can we—" my stomach drops as the call ends.

I get he's upset, but he doesn't have to be so cold about it, and if it's like this now, I hate to see what it's going to be like when he goes back to London.

"Can't you guys just make up already?" Kristen asks, walking into my room.

"Doesn't seem like it; that's all I have been trying to do for the past week" I toss my phone lightly in front of me.

"So I take it he still doesn't know why I mean, other than the flying issue?" she asks, sitting down.

I shake my head. "It won't fix the problem; if anything, it may cause more, and it's not something I want to do over facetime."

What am I doing?

We didn't even think any of it, or maybe we did; either way, it doesn't matter. I should have ended it that night before he left to go back to Atlanta and kept it strictly friends.

"Hey, what if we drive? Like a road trip? It's only a thirty-five-hour drive. If we start early, we could make decent time." Kristen says, interrupting my thoughts.

I shrug. "I don't even think he wants me around right now; he has never ended the call like that before."

"He does; otherwise, he wouldn't be acting this way?" she questions, gets up, and walks over to the small white chair in my room. Turning her baseball hat around from its usually backward state before sitting down. "This is what he's doing right now." She leans into the back of the chair, putting her hands together, pouting, then occasionally looking at her hands. "I just wanna see you, Jess," or "Jo, I just don't understand why she won't come here." I can't help but laugh a little bit at her reenactment.