on your face, Mac. You can’t take it all so seriously.”
I nodded thoughtfully. Jason’s laid back attitude towards life had always been appealing to me. He was the tranquil Yin to my over-anxious Yang. But sitting there, watching him chew his food without a care in the world, I felt a twinge of resentment. Jason was always relaxed, like he was living a life of leisure, which, when I thought about it, he was. His father had founded the Kermode Company, the world’s largest maker of GPS units, and made millions in the process. His parents gave him everything he wanted, he didn’t have to choose a college based on how much scholarship money they offered, and he got this job through his father’s connections. His life had been a series of easy choices. He never wasted time grappling with which path to take like I’ve always done. He simply selected the path of least resistance, purposely creating an undemanding, uncomplicated life. His BlackBerry battery was dead, yet he wasn’t the slightest bit concerned. I, on the other hand, would break out into the shakes if my BlackBerry was out of my sight.
“Well, I can’t exactly take my one source of income lightly,” I responded in my best passive aggressive voice.
Before Jason could reply, a familiar buzzing sound filled the room. A look of uncertainty flashed across his face, but only for a second.
“Ah ha!” He put the take-out container down and began rooting through the coat draped across the arm of the couch. “I knew it was around here somewhere.”
“I thought your battery was dead.” I peered over his shoulder as he pulled his BlackBerry out of the inside pocket.
He shrugged. “I tried calling it earlier to find it, but it didn’t ring. I figured the battery must be dead. I guess I’d just left it on vibrate and couldn’t hear it.” He did a quick check before stuffing it back in his coat pocket. “Enough talk about BlackBerries for one night.” He pulled me towards him and nuzzled my neck. “Listen, I’ve been thinking,” his sleepy voice growled in my ear. “We should make this official.”
“This?” I giggled.
He pulled his head back to look me in the eyes. “This.” He gestured to each of us with his chin. “Let’s move in together.”
“Really?” My heart rate sped up.
“With the way you’ve been working, it just makes sense. That way there’ll be a reason I’m camping out on your couch waiting for you.”
For a moment my mind whirred through the possibilities—falling asleep and waking up together every day, not having to worry about which apartment we were staying at each night, or whose stuff was where.
“Where would we live?” I asked. Jason hated my neighborhood, preferring to live near the action of the East Village instead.
He shrugged. “You could move in to my place.”
“But my lease …” I trailed off.
“Geez, this is like pulling teeth.” His tone was light, but I detected an irritated edge to it. “When does your lease end?”
“April.”
“Then we can do it in April.” He rubbed his hand along my back, giving me goose bumps. “And we can pick a new place. Our place.”
A wide smile broke across my face. “Our place” had a very nice ring to it. Any momentary hesitation I felt floated away and excitement took its place. “Let’s do it,” I gushed, nodding enthusiastically. “Let’s move in together in April.”
Jason pulled me close, his tired eyes crinkling into a smile. I inhaled the scent of him, thinking I soon would have the pleasure of sleeping beside him every night. “April can’t come fast enough,” he murmured.
Before I shut my eyes for the night I did one final email check. Seeing no work emails, I scrolled through my outgoing texts out of curiosity, but never did find the text that Jason had sent to Alex.
9
I TOOK A SWIG of my vodka soda and picked up my BlackBerry to check the time. 10:28 . Kim was now twenty-eight minutes late. Typical , I thought, leaning back
I nodded thoughtfully. Jason’s laid back attitude towards life had always been appealing to me. He was the tranquil Yin to my over-anxious Yang. But sitting there, watching him chew his food without a care in the world, I felt a twinge of resentment. Jason was always relaxed, like he was living a life of leisure, which, when I thought about it, he was. His father had founded the Kermode Company, the world’s largest maker of GPS units, and made millions in the process. His parents gave him everything he wanted, he didn’t have to choose a college based on how much scholarship money they offered, and he got this job through his father’s connections. His life had been a series of easy choices. He never wasted time grappling with which path to take like I’ve always done. He simply selected the path of least resistance, purposely creating an undemanding, uncomplicated life. His BlackBerry battery was dead, yet he wasn’t the slightest bit concerned. I, on the other hand, would break out into the shakes if my BlackBerry was out of my sight.
“Well, I can’t exactly take my one source of income lightly,” I responded in my best passive aggressive voice.
Before Jason could reply, a familiar buzzing sound filled the room. A look of uncertainty flashed across his face, but only for a second.
“Ah ha!” He put the take-out container down and began rooting through the coat draped across the arm of the couch. “I knew it was around here somewhere.”
“I thought your battery was dead.” I peered over his shoulder as he pulled his BlackBerry out of the inside pocket.
He shrugged. “I tried calling it earlier to find it, but it didn’t ring. I figured the battery must be dead. I guess I’d just left it on vibrate and couldn’t hear it.” He did a quick check before stuffing it back in his coat pocket. “Enough talk about BlackBerries for one night.” He pulled me towards him and nuzzled my neck. “Listen, I’ve been thinking,” his sleepy voice growled in my ear. “We should make this official.”
“This?” I giggled.
He pulled his head back to look me in the eyes. “This.” He gestured to each of us with his chin. “Let’s move in together.”
“Really?” My heart rate sped up.
“With the way you’ve been working, it just makes sense. That way there’ll be a reason I’m camping out on your couch waiting for you.”
For a moment my mind whirred through the possibilities—falling asleep and waking up together every day, not having to worry about which apartment we were staying at each night, or whose stuff was where.
“Where would we live?” I asked. Jason hated my neighborhood, preferring to live near the action of the East Village instead.
He shrugged. “You could move in to my place.”
“But my lease …” I trailed off.
“Geez, this is like pulling teeth.” His tone was light, but I detected an irritated edge to it. “When does your lease end?”
“April.”
“Then we can do it in April.” He rubbed his hand along my back, giving me goose bumps. “And we can pick a new place. Our place.”
A wide smile broke across my face. “Our place” had a very nice ring to it. Any momentary hesitation I felt floated away and excitement took its place. “Let’s do it,” I gushed, nodding enthusiastically. “Let’s move in together in April.”
Jason pulled me close, his tired eyes crinkling into a smile. I inhaled the scent of him, thinking I soon would have the pleasure of sleeping beside him every night. “April can’t come fast enough,” he murmured.
Before I shut my eyes for the night I did one final email check. Seeing no work emails, I scrolled through my outgoing texts out of curiosity, but never did find the text that Jason had sent to Alex.
9
I TOOK A SWIG of my vodka soda and picked up my BlackBerry to check the time. 10:28 . Kim was now twenty-eight minutes late. Typical , I thought, leaning back
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