Life, Unscheduled by Kristin Rockaway

Author:Kristin Rockaway [Rockaway, Kristin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-31T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

My romantic history was, in a word, sparse. I could count the number of guys I’d dated on one hand, the number of guys I’d slept with on one finger. Brandon and I hadn’t even had sex yet. That being the case, I was hardly qualified to go messing around in other people’s love lives.

But Charles wasn’t leaving me any other choice. I needed that day off. So I told him I’d try my very best to convince Shirin to take him back, even though I didn’t think he had a chance in hell.

It wasn’t that I didn’t empathize. I knew what it was like to work for Virtuality, how the company seeped through your skin and flowed through your veins. It was more than just a job; it was a lifestyle.

And I also knew what it was like to fall head over heels for someone. To catch yourself daydreaming about their smile or their scent when you should’ve been focusing on your work. To burst into flames every time you touched.

I understood Charles’s predicament on a deeply personal level. That was why I knew he didn’t stand a chance. Because I’d recently come to the realization that Brandon and I didn’t stand a chance either.

Only two weeks earlier, I’d been convinced I saw my future in his eyes. But that was the last time we’d been in the same room together. The next day, he’d shown his apartment to some prospective tenants, then immediately driven back to Idyllwild to deal with some unexpected permitting issues related to the brewpub. He’d been there ever since, and I’d been here in LA, working nonstop, remembering exactly why I was hesitant to pursue a long-distance relationship in the first place. It was hard being apart. Calls weren’t a substitute for kisses; texts couldn’t take the place of a touch.

I missed him, viscerally.

Though, in a way, I was grateful for the space between us. It made it easier for me to conceal the truth. As far as Brandon knew, I was still going to Idyllwild for the grand opening of Mountain Air, and for now, I wanted to keep it that way. So I smiled my way through our video chats and hid my trembling hands off camera. Eventually, I’d have to confess I was breaking the promise I’d made to him, but I wanted to do it in person.

Of course, I had no idea when that would be. He was supposed to come back to LA the day before I left for Vegas, but earlier that morning, he texted to cancel: I’m so sorry. My bro scheduled some last minute meeting with a bunch of local vendors tomorrow. I can’t miss it.

I replied, It’s OK , I totally understand! even as a wave of disappointment crashed over my shoulders. When it receded, though, I experienced the sweet release of relief. Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite so guilty about missing his grand opening. He understood what it was like to be under pressure, to need to be at work for reasons beyond his control.

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