“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m just…scared. I know I shouldn’t put that all on you, but you’re kind of the reason I’m scared. I like you, Zach—a lot—but what if this doesn’t work out? What if we jump in too soon?”
He sighs. “Remember when we were talking about our exes? About the lack of fireworks?”
“Yeah.”
“I swear to god, someone is going to swoop in and take my man card for this shit, but I felt them with you. When we first kissed, I knew right then you were worth jumping in with both feet and taking a risk.”
I don’t let myself overthink his words, wanting to keep my head level and clear.
“What if I’m not worth the risk?”
“We’ll never know if we don’t take it.”
“Say you’re a couple already, Dalilah!” Robbie’s voice comes loud through the speaker. “He paused the movie during an epic scene!”
“How many times have I told you that her name is Delia. Deal-ya. Get it?”
“You talk about me with Robbie?” I ask.
“Sometimes.”
“Say yes! He looks like someone kicked his goat!”
“Shut the fuck up, Robbie!”
I laugh. “If I say yes, will he stop shouting?”
“YES!” Robbie shouts again.
“I’ll take the risk, Zach, but you better be worth it.”
“You’ve seen my Harry Potter underwear—you know I’m worth it.” Then he whispers, “Wink.”
Fourteen
Zach: Are you excited for our date Thursday?
Me: No.
Zach: Are you lying?
Me: Maybe, but you’ll never know.
Zach: I mean, if you’re not excited, we can always cancel…
Me: Those three dots aren’t going to get me this time.
Zach: You wound me.
Me: Your ego is big enough, it can take the hit.
Zach: Your sass is on point tonight. Everything okay?
Me: Sigh. Yeah. It was a long day. My professors are trying to cram a bunch of last-minute studying in before Thanksgiving break.
Zach: Do we need to reschedule the date? Give you time to relax? I don’t mind waiting for you, Delia.
