I stared at him. Was he talking about my blowjob abilities?
He suddenly blushed. “I mean, you’re clearly very intelligent.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Thank you.”
We settled into silence after that as we finished off breakfast, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Actually, it was really pleasant. The morning sun filtering in through the windows. The distant twittering of birds. The smell of hot pancakes and freshly made coffee.
In another life, I could see myself loving living a life like this. A beautiful house. A strong, kind man —
Willow, what are you doing? Stop it. Don’t fantasize about things you can’t have.
After breakfast, I returned to the guest room. I sat on the bed, folding my legs beneath me, and looked at my contacts. My first instinct was to call my friends and tell them everything I happened. But something stopped me. I knew they’d be sympathetic, and while they were way too nice to ever say,I told you so, I’d feel them thinking it. How many times had they mentioned that Tim wasn’t good enough for me? That he didn’t treat me right? I’d brushed off their comments. I’d defended him.
Instead, I video-called my sisters, Ella and Juliet. Since we were family, they couldn’t judge me for my stupidity.
They picked up immediately, both of their faces appearing on my phone screen.
“Hey,” Ella, my older sister said. “How’s Tim’s — what’s wrong?” she said, catching sight of my expression.
“Where are you?” Jules said, squinting at the unfamiliar background.
“I’m at Tim’s dad’s house,” I started, then explained everything to them. To my relief, I didn’t cry — I was done sobbing over Tim. But I could hear how defeated I sounded. “And to top it all off, the bus routes have been cancelled, so I’m stuck here.”
Jules was seething. “Tim’s a fucking loser. He better watch out, ‘cause if I ever run into him —”
“Hold on a sec,” Ella interrupted. “I agree, he deserves a kick up the ass. But let’s focus on one thing at a time. Willow’s stuck in a house with a random old man.”
“He’s not that old,” I felt compelled to say. “He’s only forty-three. And he’s not a complete stranger. He’s actually…really nice,” I finished in a small voice.
Ella looked like she hadn’t heard me. “It’s dangerous, Willow. What if he tries something?”
I tried not to react. “He’s not like that. He’s a gentleman.”
“Is there really no way to get back?” Jules asked.
“Logan — that’s Tim’s dad — offered to drive me back, but I can’t let him do that.”
Ella nodded sagely. “He might kidnap you.”
“He won’t kidnap me,” I corrected. “It’ll just take up a lot of his time and gas.”
“How about asking Mom and Dad to pick you up?” Jules suggested.
I buried my head in my hands. “No. The only thing worse than being stuck at a stranger’s house is asking my parents to drive all the way here to pick me up. I’ll never hear the end of it.” This was my first year living away from my parents. I was supposed to be a proper adult. I didn’t want to be the youngest daughter who always needed to be babied.
“Hang on,” Ella said. I saw her pick up a diary and flick through the pages. “Jordan and I are going away for a night…”
Jordan was her boyfriend. When I’d first heard about him, I’d been skeptical, because he seemed like a typical fuckboy. But actually, he was completely obsessed with and devoted to my sister, which was everything Ella deserved.
“We could pick you up on the way back to the city, but that won’t be until Monday.” I opened up my maps app and checked the route. If they picked me up, they’d have to go an hour out of their way, but at least it wasn’t an eight-hour round trip.
“That’s okay,” I said. “I can wait until Monday.” It just meant I’d have to stay in Logan’s house for two more nights. I’d have to ask him if that was alright.
“Or,” Ella said, “we could try and grab you earlier, but —”
“No,” I interrupted. If Ella picked me up early, it would interrupt her weekend getaway with her boyfriend, and I didn’twant to do that to her. Ella worked long hours and barely ever had time for holidays. She deserved a break. I could handle waiting two more nights. “Monday is perfect. Thank you so much, Ella.”
“It’s nothing. That’s what big sisters are for.”
