By the time Bridgette finally got home she was exhausted. She had just crawled into bed and laid her head on the pillow after a long, hot shower when her phone chirped.
Hey pretty lady, did you make it home ok?
A big grin crept across her face as she read the message from Paul.
Hi there! Yes I did, I was just about to go to bed. It was an exhausting weekend, but fun!
The little bubbles appeared so she could see he was responding back.
Well then I’ll let you get some sleep. I won’t be back to Chicago until next week, I’d love to stay in touch though and get a date on the books for our date.
Yeah absolutely! She sent back. Just let me know what works for you, I’m pretty flexible. I hope you have a great night and thanks for reaching out!
Goodnight, I’ll be in touch.
❖
The next several days were slow for Bridgette. She had text with Paul a few times but she knew he was away at a medical conference an didn’t want to bug him too much. She hadn’t really heard much from Luke since he blew her off for their usual Tuesday run. Work had been busy so that at least kept her distracted enough along with Harper’s boot camp classes she had been forced to attend. She actually was loving the workouts, it helped her channel her current frustrations into something positive.
It was already Thursday night and she hadn’t heard from Luke at all so she decided to reach out and confirm their usual Saturday morning run plans. She usually always confirmed the distance and start time with him and then they grabbed coffee or brunch afterward.
Hey boo, haven’t heard from you this week. You ok? I wanted to confirm our Saturday run start time and distance. I was thinking we could hit up that French bakery by your place after. I’m dying for one their croissants!
She made sure her ringtone was turned on and set her phone down to work through her nighttime routine. Even if Luke was out with one of his flavors of the week he usually would shoot her back a quick text to confirm or say he’d confirm later, but not tonight. It was nearing eleven o’clock and he still hadn’t responded so she set her alarm, silenced her phone and went to bed. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t annoyed by it but she didn’t want to read anything so she’d let it go until tomorrow.
By the time Friday afternoon rolled around and Luke still hadn’t responded she was having more and more of a hard time keeping it together. She wanted to call him up and give him a piece of her mind but she decided to play nice in the hopes that he had responded and it just didn’t go through. She typed out another message and hit send.
Hey it’s me again, just wanted to confirm we were still on for Saturday? I haven’t heard from you so just wanted to make sure you were ok. Let me know xo.
She placed her phone on her desk face up and stared at it, waiting for him to respond…”UGH!” She huffed and stood up to go grab a cup of coffee, she didn’t even know why she cared so much if he was busy and didn’t have time for her this week. She had just had the talk with herself about how life would someday change for them, so why not now?
She killed some time by making small talk with her coworkers about her recent reunion trip. The ladies always loved stories about Luke and usually always asked her once again why he was single or why she and him weren’t a couple. This time she told them about Paul before they could even ask about Luke. Their attention was immediately captured as she told him about his residency in the pediatrics wing of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and how he already texts her good night. The ladies clutched their chest and swooned as Bridgette told them stories from cloud nine.
She had just returned to her desk when her phone lit up with a message from Luke. She quickly grabbed her phone and opened the message.
Sorry, been busy. I’m going to have to pass on Saturday. Have a great weekend.
She couldn’t tamper her anger any longer. She quickly tapped out a response.
Too busy to send a simple text? Okay. Well when you decide to stop being passive aggressive and tell me what the hell I did wrong, call me.
She knew her response was probably hasty and a bit immature but she was sick of his emotional roller coaster. She wasn’t one for playing games and he usually wasn’t either so she was going to get to the bottom of his pissy mood once and for all!
The rest of the day was as drag. Bridgette felt bad for snapping at Luke, he didn’t respond to her last text and she debated all day on whether she should apologize. She buried herself in work instead, she had a massive stack of manuscripts to work through and her boss was harping on her to help out with one of her fellow editors that was falling behind in her work load.
She was just finishing up some final edits when her phone started ringing. “Hey Harper what’s going on?”
“Just finished up my last class of the day, what are you up to? You heading out to Shanahan’s with the guys?”
Bridgette put the phone on speaker and placed it on her desk as she glanced at the clock on the wall, it was pushing 7pm and she hadn’t even noticed. “Nope, I am actually still at work. Living the dream I know.” She stacked the manuscripts she had completed and set them on the edge of her desk to drop at her boss’s office on her way out. She figured she’d take home the others and work on them over the weekend seeing as how she had no plans. “And no, not getting drinks with the guys. Luke is being weird still and I snapped at him via text today.” She couldn’t hide the exasperation in her voice.
“What do you mean weird again? What’s going on?”
Bridgette ran her hand through her long dark hair and sighed, “Well you know how he was last weekend at the reunion. One minute things were fine and then the next he was moody and pissed at me for no reason.”
“That’s still going on? I thought he apologized or whatever?” Harper grabbed her bags and made her way out of the gym towards her apartment.
“I thought so too but then on the way home he said he couldn’t run with me on Tuesday because of work which was fine but it seemed sudden. Also, I didn’t hear from him all week which is very rare. He usually always checks in or bugs me to go get lunch with him once or twice. I reached out on Thursday night to confirm our Saturday run, which I always do, and he didn’t respond until this afternoon. He once again blew me off but this time gave no reason.”
“Hmm that is weird. Is anything else going on? His family seemed fine but maybe something happened that he didn’t tell you about?”
“I didn’t ask but to be honest I think it’s me. I think he’s pissed at me for something and I have no idea why! I responded to his text today in a bit of a hasty manner and was a little rude. I felt bad after and I’ve debated apologizing or just calling him to see what’s going on and just resolve everything. I hate having something between us.” She let out another groan and leaned back in her chair.
“I think that’s your best bet. Text him that you’re coming over, show up with beer and get to the bottom of this immaturity. Apologize if you have to but make sure he explains what his problem is. It’s not fair for him to take something out on you that either has nothing to do with you or is some stupid issue he has.” Harper was fired up, she was jabbing her pointer finger in the air as if she were confronting him herself.
“Thanks Harper, you’re always the best you know that? If this works I’ll owe you. I’m going to head out now. It’s way too late for me to be alone in an office on a Friday night. I’m starting to get sad about how pathetic my social life has gotten.” The girls wished each other a good night as Bridgette grabbed the rest of her things and headed toward the elevator. She pulled out her phone and typed out a message to Luke.
Hey I’m coming over. I have beer and an apology with your name on it. I won’t stay long but we need to talk.
She barely reached her car when her phone began ringing, it was Luke.
“Well speak of the devil, what kind of beer do you want?”
“That’s why I’m calling. Listen you don’t need to come over, I’m actually not
even home. I wanted to tell you that you don’t owe me an apology, I owe you one. I was rude to you today and this week. I didn’t mean to blow you off for work and I feel bad that I’ve made you feel like you did something wrong.”
Bridgette felt immediate relief. “Oh my god I’m so happy to hear that, you have no idea! I thought I had pissed you off again and I felt terribly. I’m sorry I snapped at you today. What’s going on with work? Actually, we can talk about it later. I’ll let you go since you’re out.”
“No it’s ok, I’m just at Grant’s house playing poker. Work has just been stressful, my boss quit so I’ve been doing his job and mine and I let it get to me. I kind of buried myself in work this entire week and didn’t talk to anyone. Anyway that’s not an excuse to make you feel bad but I just wanted to clear the air.”
Bridgette explained that she understood and there were no hard feelings and they both profusely apologized to one another. They agreed that they would be back on for their Tuesday night run next week and wished each other a good night. Before she drove home she shot off a quick text to Harper.
Just talked to Luke, turns out he’s been buried at work and THAT’S why he was moody and weird. So glad you and I spoke and you told me to get my shit together. Love you babe, have a great night! Xo
Chapter 7
Things had returned to normal it seemed since Bridgette had spoken with Luke. He had confirmed they were back on for their Tuesday evening run and they had exchanged a few texts here and there throughout the weekend. Life seemed to be going so well for Bridgette. She had recently received a promotion to senior editor at work, she and Paul were hitting it off and they had selected this coming Saturday as their first official date and she and Luke were back on track.
It was Sunday night and Bridgette was frantically riffling through her closet, trying to decide what she would wear out on she and Paul’s first date. “Seriously I have nothing to wear!” She huffed as she spun on her heel and walked over to her phone. She selected Harper’s name and hit the call button, standing in the middle of her room with her hand on her hip as if she were ready for action. “I have NOTHING to wear!” She shrieked when Harper picked up the phone.
“Uh well hello to you too and what the hell are you talking about?” Harper had pulled the phone away from her ear as Bridgette screeched into the phone.
“For my date with Paul! I literally just went through my closet twice and I have nothing. You have to help me out, do you have something? I’m thinking sexy but not provocative, not trying to send that kind of message.” She babbled on for a bit about the perfect outfit and what it would and wouldn’t accentuate.
“Okay well first of all calm the hell down, you’re getting weirdly high pitched and this date is a full week away.” She enunciated the word ‘full’ to drive the point home. “I’m almost 5 inches taller than you Bridge so my clothes aren’t going to look right on you, you know this. Remember when you tried on my gold sequin dress in Vegas and it looked like you were a kid wearing her mom’s oversized shirt?” She laughed at the memory of Bridgette trying to make the frock work on her slim, petite frame.
“Ugh true…dammit! What am I going to do?”
“Well, call me crazy but how about this idea…you guy buy something?” Harper’s words were dripping with sarcasm.
“Well yeah I know that’s an option, I just had hoped I had something tasteful. He’s just different from the other guys I’ve dated Harper…he’s sophisticated and a doctor, I can’t just show up in some dress I’ve worn to a million other dates.”
“What are you guys even doing? Your text yesterday didn’t even tell me what your plans were.”
“He said he’d make reservations at RPM Steakhouse and then we were going to take one of those fancy boat rides on Lake Michigan.” She was clearly excited by her tone and delivery but the other end of the phone was silent. “Uh hello? Harper?”
“Bridge you don’t even eat steak…or meat for that matter. Why is he taking you to a super high end steakhouse? Did you not tell him you’re vegetarian?”
“No it felt a little rude, besides I’m sure I won’t have a problem finding something on the menu.” She brushed off the sentiment.
Harper shook her head to herself, “Well as long as you have a great time and he treats you well I guess that’s all that matters.”
Bridgette seemed a little annoyed by Harper’s comment but she brushed it off and the girls wished each other a good night. As she went about her nighttime routine she made a mental note to set some time aside this week to hit up Nordstrom to find the perfect dress for Saturday. Before she climbed into bed she pulled her phone out again and typed out a message to Paul before heading to bed.
Hey, I hope you’ve had a nice evening. I’m heading to bed and was just thinking about you. Wanted to tell you goodnight and that I can’t wait to see you on Saturday!
Monday came and went, it was another busy day at the office buried in manuscripts. She loved her job, it often felt like more of a passion than a job to her. She was one of the lucky ones who landed their ‘dream job’ after college and had continued to fall more and more in love with the publishing world.
She was wrapping up for the day when her phone lit up with a message from Luke.
Hey sweetheart, how’s Monday treating you? We still on for our run tomorrow night?
A smile slowly spread across Bridgette’s face. Luke had called her sweetheart since the first time she met him. It was a bit of a mainstream pet name but it was special to her when it came from him. Since getting over her initial heartbreak of telling Luke she had feelings for him without reciprocation she had convinced herself she had moved on but sometimes she felt things…like tonight. Why did she feel butterflies when he text her? She hadn’t seen him I’m a week and a half and she was feeling a little nervous about their run tomorrow night. She pushed the feelings aside and picked up her phone to type out a response.
Hey handsome, yes absolutely! My Monday has been alright, feeling like I’m finally getting my head above water. How are things going at work? Any better yet?
Good! I’m sure you’re kicking ass and raising hell like usual. Work is still stressful but getting more manageable. Thanks for asking, I’m sure our 10 mile run tomorrow night will help me clear my head. ;)
TEN MILES?! Boy you are out of your damn mind, I’ll be on your back for half of that FYI.
Luke laughed out loud as he read her message. She always knew how to put a smile on his face. She was quick witted and sassy and it drove him crazy. She was like a puzzle to him, something he couldn’t ever seem to figure out or define. It was infuriating and exciting at the same time.
Nah I’m just teasing you. We both know you’re too lazy for that kind of endurance. Just a 5 miler…but don’t think I won’t push your boundaries someday. See what that little body is capable of handling. Don’t stay at the office too late and have a goodnight ;)
She couldn’t help but feel a small blush creep up her neck when she read his message. She knew he didn’t mean it to be sexual but why did her mind immediately go there?! For a brief second she let her mind wander and it immediately went to images of her and Luke naked and sweaty. Images of him thrusting into her as he pushed her to the edge. She stood up quickly and slammed her laptop shut as if that would make the thoughts go away. She felt flushed and embarrassed as if anyone could see what she had just imaged.
“Ok time for a drink Bridge,” she said to herself as she gathered her things and headed toward the elevators. She made plans to pick up a bottle of wine on the way home and decompress a bit. She had just reached her car when her phone screen lit up again.
If you’re still at the office you’re going to be late for my 6:30 bootcamp…Your ass better be here, you signed up!
“Shit!” She had completely forgotten about her commitment to Harper’s bootcamp class. She looked in her backseat and sure enough, she had remembered to bring her gym bag with her to work this morning. “Phew!” At least
she would only be late instead of having to completely bail on the class. She jumped in her car and tapped out a quick response to Harper before throwing the car into drive and speeding off to the gym.
Of course I’m on my way! Such little faith in me :)
Bridgette squatted, kicked and punched her way through Harper’s bootcamp class. She had always considered herself to be in decent shape but this class took things to a new level. She always hated the moments leading up to the class but she was loving the benefits she was seeing reflected in her body. Her abs were flat and defined, her butt felt firmer and higher and she finally had some arm definition. She was hopeful she’d be able to kick Luke’s ass on their run tomorrow but she knew it was highly unlikely. Luke was extremely athletic, he not only played multiple sports his entire life but he was one of those guys that could eat whatever he wanted and still have bulging biceps and six pack abs…abs she couldn’t seem to get off her mind lately.
Bridgette always held on to feelings for Luke, she knew it but refused to admit it. Sometimes she went back and forth on the type of feelings…she would convince herself she loved him like a brother, that of course she would have feelings for someone she had know for a decade. On nights like tonight though she knew the thoughts she had about him were NOT brotherly in nature!
“You were really kicking ass back there tonight!” Harper gave her friend a double high five as she walked up after the class was over. “Be honest, were you planning on coming tonight if I hadn’t text you?”
Bridgette laughed as she hung her head, “I actually brought my gym bag this morning but I got busy at work and completely forgot so thank you for reminding me. It was definitely worth it and I really needed it, trust me.”
Always You: A Friends to Lovers Romance-Book 1 Page 4