The first couple of words sat there temptingly as the phone slowly dimmed. When the screen went dark, I set the phone down on the kitchen table and forced myself to keep going through my morning routine. When I was dressed and my coffee had filled the kitchen with its wonderful aroma, I finally let myself pick up the phone again.
As I stared at the blank screen, I still hadn’t decided what I would do. Read the email or just leave it until later? Did I even have that much patience? What would I do if it was too hard to answer? Would he get frustrated with me if I didn’t open up enough?
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on the breathing exercises I’d learned. When my heart rate was back to normal, I opened my eyes and swiped my finger across the screen. If I was ready for a relationship, then that meant I was capable of reading an email and dealing with the outcome.
I could do it.
His first line made me smile, and relief flooded through me.
I bet you’re wondering what I’m going to ask you. I’m pretty sure you’ve obsessed over even looking at the email for quite a while, so I figure I’ll keep it easy for today. What did you like best about our date? And yes, if you were wondering or worrying, I’m counting it as a date. I’m looking forward to Wednesday, cutie.
I hit the reply button and answered before I could even think about it.
That’s easy. I liked you holding me the best.
Hitting the send button before I could second-guess myself, I smiled. He always knew exactly what to do to make me feel at ease. I wasn’t sure if he was naturally good at handling basket cases or if he just understood people, but he always knew exactly what to say.
As I finished my coffee, another email from Preston popped up.
I’m glad. That was one of my favorite parts too. On a side note, would you happen to know why Eli is texting me this morning saying you’re mean and need to be punished? He’s clearly got too much time on his hands because his list of ideas is ridiculously long. But don’t worry. I have a feeling his version of events is a bit skewed.
Laughing, I set my cup down and typed back a quick message.
He’s insane and nosy. I told him if he didn’t stop bugging me about our date, I would sic Roman on him and tell him Eli was mean to me. I think I might have to use you as my secret weapon, though. Maybe you could make him do paperwork if he’s been bad?
As I sent the email, I completely ignored the fact that I’d basically talked about Eli’s submission to Preston. I wasn’t worried about outing Eli, he was so far out of the closet at work he’d forgotten to grab clothes on the way out of it when he’d left. But it’d felt so natural talking to Preston that it started me thinking…would it be that easy to talk about what I wanted?
I’d have felt better about this if more of you had said you’d tried panties, but I appreciate all the support you gave me. The emails were really sweet, and the memes were great. I think that’s the only reason I tried them on. Well, maybe I would have tried them on anyway because I did spend money on them, but you guys made it easier. I know what the next question will be so I’m not even going to make you ask. Yes, I liked them. I think I liked them. No, I’m sure. They’re just weird.
Maybe that’s not the right word.
Let’s say they’re soft and a bit snug (you know where). I probably should have expected that, but I’m kind of worried I bought the wrong size. Is that possible? I mean, I know it’s possible, but I think I’m just overthinking this.
Six months, two weeks until first date
