Me: Touché
I tossed my phone in my purse before Andrew returned to the car and found me entranced in it. He stopped in WaWa to get cash for our date this evening. The entire conversation with Stenton had me blushing so hard my face hurt. Too many racy thoughts were running through my mind to continue this conversation. The first being how I would inspect this man’s teeth.
~~~~~~~~~~
Me: I did it.
I typed and hit send. Butterflies took flight in my belly. I was taking a risk, but he was the first person I wanted to share this news with for some crazy reason.
It would be over an hour before I got a reply.
Stenton: Did what?
Me: I broke up with Andrew.
Stenton: Who the hell is Andrew?
Me: My boyfriend, you geek.
Stenton: Still no wow factor?
He remembered? Excitement kindled throughout my body.
Me: None.
Stenton: LMAO What finally did it?
Me: We were at his place and he was flipping through the music channels. He was trying to find music to set the mood I guess and skipped over the rock channel (btw “Love Somebody” was playing) to find another genre I asked him to turn back. He said no and that he wanted jazz. I grabbed my stuff and left. I mean, who doesn’t feel like getting “wowed” off Maroon 5?
I held my breath after hitting send, wondering if I gave too much. I must have read my message twice before Stenton’s response came through.
Stenton: Maybe he thought you wanted to get messy like they did in the video. All jokes aside… Who in the hell needs music to set the mood? You can make your own sounds to get off. He’s a fucking asshat…an asshat that doesn’t like to get messy apparently.
My head dipped back and I laughed to the point of tears, never mind the bit of arousal I felt when I momentarily allowed my mind to wander to the sounds Stenton alluded to.
Me: Are you busy?
Stenton: Kinda. In a meeting with my McDonalds reps.
Oh, noooo!
Me: Stenton! That’s pretty important. Go! Stop inboxing!
Stenton: My lawyer’s a fucking pit bull. He’s here putting fire under their asses.
I didn’t know how to respond to that. He was busy. Although I wanted to chat more, had endless questions and topics to explore, he was in fact busy. My fingers tapped the wall to the right of me, contemplating.
Stenton: I know you’re making that clicking sound with the back of your mouth. It’s cool Zo. The conversation is flowing. I’ll end our conversation here but let’s hang out tomorrow. You can give me more details on your breakup.
I stopped the sound when I realized I was making it. It was a bizarre call on his part. It felt like a small and intimate fact only someone who paid attention would catch. Did Andrew know I had that bad habit? My mind raced with what that meant.
Me: Okay.
Stenton: And Zo…you could’ve text me with this. You would’ve gotten a quicker response.
Okay. This is my last message to him.
Me: I don’t have your number, geek!
Stenton: 215/555-9658
Chapter 3
Then
August 2006
~Zoey~
It was the middle of August, only a week before we were due to complete Working Toward the Stars. When Angela was done with whatever she was doing with Alton, we drove her car to church. Our cousin, Karen, texted us the night before asking to meet her there when we were done with our summer internship.
Of course, she wouldn’t know we were done hours earlier, but had to wait for Ang’s extra curriculum activities to conclude before we were actually considered done for the day. What concerned me was her demeanor. Ang wasn’t her usual chatty self. She seemed preoccupied as her oscillating eyes faced the road.
“Was it that bad?” I teased.
“What was that?” she barely paid me a glance.