When We Blinked: A Novel by Stephanie Mack

Author:Stephanie Mack [Mack, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romantic Fiction
Publisher: Stephanie Mack
Published: 2021-03-13T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Seraphina

There was something about Connor’s otherness yesterday, and last night. The way he carried himself, his confidence in our school meeting. I’d known him only as an extension of me, for year after year after year. Since I was nineteen years old. Like a ponytail, or limb. Necessary and glorious! But a part of me—a part that sometimes also annoyed me or gave me a headache. Seeing him walk around as a man in the big, free world, climbing into his always-clean car and driving away a little too fast—I don’t know. It was weird. It was nice. It was hot. How did other women see him, I wondered? His left dimple, thick hair, sweet brown eyes?

Was he dating again?

How did I feel, if he was?

I wasn’t ready to think about it. Switching gears. I owed my Jack a new message. Jack who had taught me that I actually knew how to flirt. How to feel sexy by using my words, my most favorite secret weapon, one I’d never had the chance to show off with a man before, at least not with such specificity.

Jack, Jack, Jack. What was I going to do about Jack? What was I already doing? With every word, I was inching closer to liking him more than I could control.

Our banter started off like conversational tennis. “You tell me this, I’ll tell you that.” Serves and volleys, some lobs and slams. There wasn’t a lot on his profile, but I had so much faith in the system. I’d pored over every line of fine print and knew that Blinde background-checked everyone. You were required to enter your full name and driver’s license number into the database. No criminals were allowed. Between the personality profiles and next-generation algorithm, I’d trusted the app from day one.

And then, message by message, in a long string of days, Jack began to wear down the high wall of cards that I was playing so carefully. He was full of interesting questions and answers, ranging from the totally random to increasingly deep. I found myself needing more. I found myself smiling again. I found myself thinking about him. I found myself starting to picture him.

I found myself wanting to meet him.

Hunkered down at my desk, I stabbed at the last few bites of my Trader Joe’s salad. I was sneaking off to a therapy appointment with Linda on my lunch break today, but I still had a couple of minutes before leaving the office. I opened Blinde on my computer to write to Jack:

Sera Lorenn: Hi, you! I’m so sorry for my late reply. It’s been a crazy couple of days. I love these questions! Here you go:

OK, I have so many dreams. I can’t pick just one, so you’re getting two. First, I’ve been trying to get on After the Final Rose since 2010. What does Chris Harrison want from me? A kidney? Take it! Take both! Seriously. Secondly, I want to write a book. Someday, I will.

I lost something very small, precious, and enormous to me two years ago.

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