“I’m really sorry. I’d love to have a steamy call, but I’m afraid I’d fall asleep in the middle.” I didn’t mention the whiskey, but I could already feel it working. “I don’t wanna hurt your feelings, so I figured I’d tell you.”
“That’s okay,” she half-lied. “I’ll write you a letter instead. How’s that?”
“That’d be awesome. I wrote you one earlier this week. Monday, I think.
Mailed it Tuesday. Yeah, Tuesday. Did you get it today? That was quick if you did.”
“No,” she said, “but I’ll get it eventually. In the meantime, I can write an extra. And maybe I can put in there what I want to do to you.”
“I’d like that.” I sounded too disinterested, but she gave me the benefit of the doubt.
“Okay. Then I guess I’d better let you get some sleep.”
“Thanks. And I’m really sorry. I’ll try to call this weekend when I’m more awake.”
“That’d be nice,” she said, although it was subdued.
“Talk to you later, then.”
“Yeah. Talk to you later. Goodnight.”
“G’night.”
I hung up, lay back on my pillow, and stared at the ceiling for a while. I
was tired, but not as tired as I’d made it sound.
Unfortunately, I knew exactly what the problem was, and Sara had nailed it: I’d already moved on. Gina was the past. Christy was the future, even with all my questions and doubts. Anything I did with Gina, even something as
“innocent” as phone sex, would feel like cheating. Not physically, but emotionally. That bothered me.
And my life wasn’t going to get any easier just because I understood the problem. If anything, it was about to get more complicated.
Chapter 29
Christy didn’t need my help to make the mold once the box was complete, so I worked on my own project most of Saturday. I finished the basic structure of the museum model and began adding watercolors for the landscaping. I also sketched out where I wanted to add physical landscape features like trees and bushes. The campus art supply store had a few basic modeling supplies, but I’d found a local model train store that had everything I needed.
Most of the work didn’t require intense concentration, so I spent a lot of time thinking about Gina too. I needed to tell her how I felt. I loved her and always would, but I didn’t think we could make a long-distance relationship work. I also thought we were trying to rekindle the past instead of moving forward. And while I didn’t want to tell her about Christy, I owed her the truth for a change. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I told myself.
I was distracted at dinner that evening, but Christy was too tired to notice.
She finished her dessert, kissed me goodnight, and went upstairs to bed.
Wren noticed my mood and gave me a hard look. I returned it calmly and then shifted my gaze to Trip.
“I need to talk to Wren,” I said. “You wanna stick around for moral support? Or leave us to work it out?”
“Gonna be fireworks?” he asked.
“Depends on her. Probably not, though. Look at it this way… I have a bone to pick with her, but I don’t think it’ll involve bloodshed.”
He glanced at her.
“I’ll be okay,” she said. Then she kissed him. “You go work on your management paper.”
“You sure?”
She nodded.
“Okay,” he said to both of us. “But if I hear any shouting, I’m gonna knock your heads together.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
Wren tried to stare me down when he’d gone.
“Sorry, not gonna work,” I told her. “You’re in the wrong this time and you know it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Gina.”
The name landed with a silent thud between us.
After a moment Wren said, “What about her?”
“Last night. She called and left several messages.”
“When?”
“Don’t play dumb. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I must’ve forgotten to give them to you,” she said with an air of indifference.
“Did you even write them down?”
“I don’t remember.”
I sat back in my chair and studied her coolly. “You know why I don’t like your matchmaking?” I said at last. “You don’t play fair. You lie and cheat.” I held up a hand to forestall her objections. “I don’t mind a fair fight. Let the best man—or woman—win. But it’s never a fair fight with you, is it?”
“I like to win.”
“I do too. And I really don’t mind losing sometimes, especially when my… opponent… is so good.”
She narrowed her eyes but nodded warily at the compliment.
“I do mind losing if I think I was cheated. You might get what you want
—me and Christy in a relationship—only to lose it when I feel like I’ve been manipulated. Okay?”
She brushed away invisible crumbs and didn’t say anything. It wasn’t exactly an admission, but as close as I was going to get.
“You know I’m falling for Christy. She told you, I’m sure.”
She nodded.
“So fighting dirty by not giving me Gina’s messages makes you look desperate. And it annoys me. I get pigheaded when I’m annoyed.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“So learn to win gracefully. An inch is as good as a mile. You’re winning with Christy and me. Who cares if it’s a shutout or a close score? For that matter, we shouldn’t even be keeping score. These are people’s lives we’re talking about here.” I stared her down until she nodded agreement.
Then I continued, “Now, meddling with Gina and me is only gonna make me do things to spite you. You don’t want that. I don’t want that. It makes me feel petty and childish.”
“Fine! All right.” She drew a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you Gina’s messages.”
“And you’re sorry you made it sound like I was on a date with Christy?”
“But you were! ”
“Wren, we weren’t.” I let that sink in. “We were working on her project.
A date is a lot more fun. Trust me, I know the difference.” I paused to add emphasis to my next words. “You wanted to make Gina doubt me. You did it deliberately to hurt her. That’s not a nice thing to do, no matter what your motives.”
I leaned forward and put my hands flat on the table. “And let’s get one thing straight… I’m very protective of my friends. I don’t like it when someone tries to hurt one of them. Do you understand?”
She avoided my gaze.
My palm hit the table with a sharp crack!
“Everything okay out there?” Trip called from his office.
I looked a question at Wren.
“We’re fine,” she said to him. “Paul was just… making a point.”
He stuck his head out anyway. He surveyed the tableau and waited.
Wren sat back and still wouldn’t meet my eyes. She looked at Trip instead. “It’s fine. I… did something mean. It was dumb, and I wasn’t thinking.” She met my gaze. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I nodded.
“Well,” Trip said, his voice deliberately light, “I’m glad I could help.”
Wren looked at him and forced a smile. “Thank you.” Then her expression relaxed and she smiled for real. “We’ll be done in a minute. And maybe afterward we can have a drink together. All of us. I think I’m going to need it.”
“You good with that?” he asked me.
“Absolutely.”
He laughed at the relief in my voice. Then he disappeared into his office
and told us to call him when we were ready.
Wren smoothed the tablecloth and stared at her hands for a long time. “I know I don’t fight fair,” she said at last, “and I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.
I… just get caught up sometimes.”