Her eyes widen. “He gave you his address? Where does he live?”
“No idea. I figured out that his letters to my apartment weren’t postmarked. He’s somewhere in Miami.”
“Okay. How are you writing back to him then?”
“I leave the letters in my building. He takes them and writes back.”
Her eyes are so wide I’m afraid they might pop out of her head. “Are you kidding me? He’s been in your building? Holy shit, Gnome. How long have you been holding onto this little tidbit?”
“That’s not even the worst part.” I close my eyes. I can’t believe I’m telling her this, but it also feels good to get it off my chest. I don’t have anyone else to confide in.
“Go on,” she prods.
“I can’t stop thinking about him.”
She purses her lips. “Thinking about him in what way?”
I cringe, bracing myself for her reaction to what I’m about to say. “I had a sex dream. Or, not really a sex dream, but it was close.”
“AboutLuca?” Her voice is so high and loud that I’m sure everyone in the building can hear her.
“That’s not all. Jake came over right after and we, you know—”
“Had sex,” she says, filling in the blanks.
“I said his name.”
She frowns. “Whose name?”
“I said Luca’s name in the middle of a moan. I don’t know what came over me. It’s not like I was thinking about him. I feel awful about it.”
“Ouch. That had to hurt his ego.”
“I don’t think he understood me. Thank God.” I breathe out a sigh.
She looks at me seriously. “So, you don’t think it’s just a fun fling anymore? With Jake?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. It’s more than that. I have feelings for him, but why can’t I stop thinking about Luca?”
“Because you have feelings for Luca, too,” Anne suggests.
I let out a desperate laugh. “I can’t have feelings for two guys at the same time.”
“What are you going to do then? If you continue dating Jake and writing to Luca, you’re just going to keep saying his name at inappropriate times.”
I sigh. I know that she’s right. I’ve thought about it myself. But after not hearing from him for two years, and now finally being able to write back, I can’t bring myself to let him go just yet.
“I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing out on something. I’ve been writing to Luca since fifth grade. Somehow, we both ended up in Miami. I’ve never believed in fate, but what if this is it? What if this is the universe telling me that I need to give him a chance?”
I hope that she’ll tell me I’m being ridiculous and that I should just leave things the way they are. I’ve never met Luca and I don’t know what he’s really like. Besides, I already admitted that I’m falling for Jake. Unlike Luca, who has only ever been words on paper, Jake is real, and he’s here, and I know him.
“I think fate and soulmates and all that are bullshit,” she says. “But come on, Naomi. You’ve been writing to Luca for longer than most people are married. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not telling you to dump Jake. But maybe give Luca a chance. Meet him.”
“You were just comparing his letter to the creepy dudes in your inbox, and now you’re saying I should meet him?”
She shrugs. “You’re always going to wonder if you don’t. And who knows? Maybe you’ll like him better than Jake.”
“I don’t know. It feels wrong. I already told him I wasn’t seeing anyone else. We basically agreed to be exclusive. And I’m not going to break up with him just to find out that Luca’s a total creep in real life. Plus, I really, really like him. I haven’t felt a connection like this with anyone in … well, ever.”
