There it is. This is the question I’m sure everyone wants to know, but no one ever asks.
“Not really. I let her know I was moving, as a courtesy. But that’s the first time I reached out since we ended things,” I admit.
“So, it is over then?” Unlike everyone else I talk to, he doesn’t seem surprised, and it makes me like the guy even more.
“If you asked her, she’d probably say no.” I laugh humorlessly. “She said that she would still be with me, even if I only wanted to be a gym teacher.”
“How gracious of her,” Callum says sarcastically, and I appreciate the support. I met a lot of my friends through Eleanor, and they all seem certain that we’ll get back together.
“Right?” I shake my head. “She said she’s giving me space to figure things out, but I don’t need space. Being away from her has only confirmed what I’ve long suspected. I don’t want to be with her anymore. Eleanor and I worked together for so long, but only on the surface. It was more like we were coexisting, not actually being together. Things with her were predictable and uncomplicated, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone because it’s convenient. Especially not when I know there is something better out there.”
Callum’s eyebrows shoot up and his expression goes from concerned to amused in a fragment of a second.
“And how exactly do you know there’s something better?” he asks, looking like the cat that caught the canary.
“I just do,” I mumble, picking at the remnants of the nachos.
“Would this ‘something better’ happen to live close by?” He’s beaming at me now and I give in.
“Maybe.” I sigh. “Yes. She’s fucking incredible, man. I’m so screwed.” I bury my head in my hands and listen to his cackle fill my ears.
“I knew it!” He laughs and points his index fingers to the sky as if to thank some unnamed deity. “I knew you were crazy about her.”
“Yeah. I’m crazy about a girl who doesn’t want to be in a relationship,” I say. “It’s a special kind of hell.”
“So, she just wants to be friends?” he asks, leaning forward and folding his arms on the table.
“In a manner of speaking.” I shrug.
“Meaning?”
“We hooked up,” I admit.
“Nice! Congrats on ending the dry spell, man.” He reaches over and slaps my shoulder like I’m a little leaguer who just hit one out of the park. When I don’t return his enthusiasm, his brow creases. “So, was it like a onetime thing?”
“Nah, we’ve been having sex all week.”
“And you’re not happy with the sex?” Callum is trying his best, but he’s not getting it at all.
“I’m very happy with the sex. I’m euphoric with the sex. I’m pretty sure I’m having the greatest sex anyone’s ever had.” As I’m saying this, the server comes to remove the eaten nacho tray and gives me a strange look. I smile apologetically at her and wait for her to leave.
“So, you want more than just great sex,” he says once she’s out of earshot. “You want a relationship.”
“I don’t know,” I confess, running my hands through my hair. “I guess I want a relationship, eventually. And she doesn’t.” Callum regards me from across the table, slowly nodding his head.
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself,” he finally says. “I mean, it makes sense. You’re coming out of a relationship where your girlfriend had your life mapped out for you since you were teenagers. You don’t have to know where this thing with Betty is going. Maybe by the time you’re ready, she will be too. And if she’s not,” he shrugs, “someone else will be.”
An unpleasant feeling invades my stomach at the thought of being with someone else, but I nod. “You’re probably right,” I agree. “Thanks for talking me down. As always, you’re a calming influence.”
“You can’t have Callum without CALM.” He grins, spreading his arms wide. “Speaking of Betty, did she mention I saw her the other day?”
“She did.” I nod. “I heard that you accosted her in the park.” Callum almost does a spit-take.
“I did no such thing!” He laughs. “I just said hello to her and her friend.” He shifts in his seat and looks away from me.
“Yeah, she said she was with Maggie.” I decide to give him the bare minimum and see where this goes.
“Maggie. That’s what her name was,” he says this in a way that leads me to believe he knew exactly what her name was. “What’s her deal?”
