by Taylor Love
He wrote down his email and phone number on one of his prized notebook pages. She took it, gently folding it before putting it in her pocket.
“I think that’s a great place to start. Let me go use the restroom and then I really do need to hit the road.”
Coming out a few minutes later, her bags where gone.
“Look Damond, I don’t have time to play. I need to get going. What did you do with my bags?”
“I took them out to the car, your purse too.”
“Oh, that was nice.”
Damond kissed her quickly on the top of her head, before pushing her away.
“Get out of here, drive safe.”
“Thanks.” She quickly put on her coat, car keys in hand before turning back one last time.
Damond gave her a little wave. “Bye, Professor.”
“I prefer see you later. Good luck on the rest of your work.”
“You too.”
She had known this was going to be hard and it was. Janae also knew they could keep up this banter all day. So without another word she walked out the door, closing it firmly behind her.
Chapter Eighteen
HER DRIVE BACK TO ANN Arbor was overall uneventful. When she was about halfway there she put on her headset and dialed her cousin, who picked up right away.
“Hey lady! It’s good to finally hear from you. I’ve been busting at the seams to talk! Didn’t want to email or call while you were working. Did you get what you needed done?”
Janae frowned, Shella rarely babbled.
“I did actually! The book is done. That extra week was for fine tuning some things...plus I got sidetracked.”
Did she want to tell her about Damond? Of course she did, but not while parting from him was still fresh. Shella took the choice from her anyway.
“I get it, I know how you get when you’re focused on something important. But I really need to talk. I have something important of my own to tell you! Are you sitting down?”
“Technically, yes. I’m in the car.” Janae laughed, finally recognizing the outright nerves in her cousin’s voice. “What is it? Don’t tell me you decided not to come back. That you’ll be living in Spain or someplace.”
At the silence that joke produced, Janae squinted out her windshield in disbelief. “Hello...Shella? Tell me you didn’t do that.”
“Noooo,” she said slowly. “I mean I thought about it a time or two. You know what...I think I should tell you later.”
“I don’t think so. You’ve been pestering me to call. I’m sorry I put you off, but now I want to hear it.”
“I just think you should be at home. I’d never forgive myself if my news made you run off the road.”
“Wait a minute! What kind of news would make me do that? Spill it.”
“I don’t think I will.” Her cousins’ voice took on a playful note. “Look drive safe and let me know when you get home with a text. Then maybe we can do lunch tomorrow after you’ve had time to rest. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like you’re stalling and now I really want to know what you’re hiding...from you.”
“I’m not hiding anything, which is why we’ll have lunch or even dinner if you prefer, tomorrow. Bye cus, and watch the road. Oh, and call your mama when you get in. Both your parents are driving me crazy. They think you’ve been kidnapped by some forest man and became his sex slave.”
“Stop it!”
Janae spat out laughing. She knew her parents hadn’t said anything like that, and that Shella was trying to deflect, which worked. The really funny thing was she was semi close to the truth.
“I finally got in contact with them a few days ago, but I’ll call as soon as I get in the door. I told them not to worry.”
“Do parents ever stop worrying? Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to let me know when you get home safe.”
“Okay, okay. Talk to you later.”
Janae hung up, entertained for the next hour by trying to guess her cousin’s secret before it started to snow. Luckily, she had only an hour to go and was much closer to civilization. If it got really bad she could actually pull off an exit if need be. Turned out she didn’t, and Janae made it to her house ten minutes before five-thirty.
Lugging her suitcases inside her apartment, she left them in the doorway untouched. Janae was the type to unpack right away, but she just didn’t have the energy, nor did she frankly care at the moment. Instead she texted her cousin, then called her mom and dad. Talking to them both briefly before making an excuse to get off the phone.
Taking off her clothes she promptly put on some fuzzy pj’s, before fixing herself a simple turkey sandwich for dinner. Which made her think of Damond, soon it would be dinner time for him too. He would be eating alone as well. Funny how she’d never been bothered by that before, the eating alone thing. It was her norm more often than not, but doing it now felt a bit bleak.
Deciding to zone out with some mindless TV she turned on Netflix, finding a comedy to make her laugh, and keep her mind off a certain man. But thirty minutes into the movie she debated with herself about texting him or not. Janae had transferred his information to her phone before leaving up north. Afraid she would lose it, and have no way to keep in touch. After another few minutes she decided a brief text wouldn’t be a big deal and pulled out her phone.
Janae: Just wanted to let you know I made it home about an hour and a half ago
She tried not to track the clock as she waited on him to reply, if he even would. After all, he might actually be working and she told herself it didn’t matter either way. But when her phone pinged five minutes later she fumbled to pick it up.
D. Hall: That’s good...snow give you any trouble?
Janae: A little but I was almost home by that time
D. Hall: Good
Well crap, should she keep it going? Maybe it was best to keep it short for now.
Janae: Have a good night
D. Hall: You do the same
She twisted her lips, oddly dissatisfied with their conversation. It seemed dry to her, formal and obligatory. He hadn’t made a joke, she hadn’t tried to remind him of some minimal task he should do. They’d both been flat. Janae tried to remind herself they were both dealing with this new reality. She had to face the facts, they were not in the cabin anymore and things would be different. They would just have to wait and see if it was a different that somehow still worked for them.
SHELLA HAD ENDED UP bringing brunch to Janae’s house the day after she got back. Making her wait until they finished eating before telling her the news, and Janae had been glad to be sitting down. Her mind blown to the point where she needed a drink. They’d ended up talking for hours, until it was time for dinner so they ordered in. Both too distracted to cook.
Eventually, Janae shared her own travel secret as well. Telling Shella all about Damon and the rocky road from annoyed housemates to lovers. Shella was thrilled for her, but Janae shut her down quick, there was nothing to be “happy” about just yet. Damond and she had an interesting road ahead, as they tried to figure out if it had been cabin fever or something more. However, before Shella left she made Janae promise to come to dinner at her house soon.
Now, two weeks later Janae was returning from that dinner at her cousin’s home, her heart a little heavy. She was speechless and frankly in awe. Shella’s path was unconventional for anyone, much less a forty-year-old black woman from the Midwest, but Janae was behind her all the way. Her time with Damond had taught her not everything had to be planned out, or even make sense. Some things just were.
Once home Janae decided to take a bubble bath, something old fashioned for her generation. But she took one every once in a while to truly relax, just as she was doing now. Since that first awkward text, she and Damond communicated daily, usually briefly in the late evening around eight or nine o’clock. She knew he was being thoughtful due to her earlier bedtime schedule. Janae was finally back to her normal ten p.m. lights out, since
she was no longer up sexing a night owl.
After the first couple of times the tone of the texts had gotten more personable, less stiff you could say. A few jokes and smart aleck comments started flowing like normal, before they wished each other goodnight. Like how a couple times a week he teased her not to molest herself while thinking about him.
Janae had initiated their first call a few days ago, needing to hear his voice. Strangely missing that irony and cynicism of his. When he’d picked up, they talked about how his second book was coming along, and how her editing was driving her crazy. She’d made them hang up after an hour, reminding him he had work to do. Janae had a feeling they would have talked all night.
Because of that she tried to be mindful he had work. Which was why they rarely talked by phone and kept texts short. She understood he needed to concentrate, and if he was feeling anything like her, their distance was enough of a distraction. Getting out the tub, it hit her that he only had one more week to go before coming home. When that happened he would only be thirty minutes from her. There would be nothing keeping them apart...unless it was themselves.
After everything with Shella, Janae decided when he got back she wanted to really go for it. True, they would be different versions of themselves back in the real world. Yet here she was, still eager to learn this other Damond if it came to that. Crossing her fingers he would be excited to learn about his Professor in her natural habitat as well
Chapter Nineteen
IT HAD BEEN THREE LONG hellish weeks. That was the kindest way Damond could describe his time at the cabin without Janae. The first day she left he tried to write, but ended up staring mostly out the window. When he tried playing some ball in the basement as a distraction, he just ended up disappointed as memories ran through his head. He needed to talk to the other owners about putting a small workout space down there. A weight rack and maybe a punching bag. Neither would take up much space and would have provided him a much needed outlet for his frustration.
Instead he’d given up and went upstairs to take a nap. Only to call himself every kind of fool when he couldn’t bring himself to get back in the bed they’d shared. His little neat woman had actually made it up before leaving, but she hadn’t changed the sheets. He bet they still smelled like her, like them together. For a few seconds he thought about sleeping somewhere else, but decided he wasn’t going to let something so inane dictate his actions.
So he’d stripped the bed, put on new sheets and proceeded to toss and turn for an hour before finally drifting off. He had finally gotten his mind together enough to start writing, only to be fucked up again when she had texted him. Damond was glad she had kept it short, as he was floundering on what to say at the time. However, the simple act of speaking with her, if only through text had sharpened his energy. That boost led him to write for the rest of the night, falling into bed at three a.m. So exhausted even the ghost of Janae couldn’t keep him awake.
His brain and resolve seemed to reboot the next day and he’d thrown himself into work. After all he was here to do a job, not pine after a woman. So his routine changed, becoming more like before Janae stepped through that cabin door, turning his life upside down. He slept, wrote and ate when he thought about it, and took a shit when needed. It worked for him, his story filling page after page on the screen. Stopping to research annoyed him but it was necessary and provided his wrists a break. He really needed to take time and learn how to dictate better. At the rate he was going he was sure to have arthritis in another few years. Another problem he didn’t need.
In the moments where he didn’t work himself to exhaustion, thoughts of his proper Professor snuck in. She wasn’t his woman—hadn’t been when she walked in the house, but damn sure felt like it when she walked out. Which was just nuts. They’d probably get sick of each other on their first date back in the real world. Chance had made them two people stuck together, who ended up making the best out of a weird situation. Damond tried to convince himself of this, as he figured she was doing the same at home. But it didn’t stop the need to communicate with her each night.
Frankly he looked forward to their texts, it reassured him that she hadn’t forgotten about him yet. Hadn’t used her logic to erase his existence from her mind. If she was going to be stuck in his head, then he wanted to be stuck in hers. That’s right, if he had to suffer so did she. She had been right, he was an asshole. One who when motivated would never play fair to get what he wanted. No matter how much he tried to talk himself out of it, Damond was starting to think what he wanted was Janae.
He was leaving tomorrow but tonight he was bone tired, elated and conflicted at the same time. The first person he thought to share all those emotions with was nearly five hours away and most likely sleep. Regardless, he picked up the phone anyway.
JANAE WAS DRESSED FOR bed, actually even in it but she wasn’t sleeping. She was doing something she rarely had time to do, reading for pleasure. A vacation romance called Crashing In On Love, that normally she would have spent the entire book scoffing at the situation. That was before her own recent experience. Now she found it romantic, possible and was rooting for the two island love birds to make it work somehow when they got home. Probably because it hit close to her real life situation. Janae might not end up with a happy ending, but damn it she wanted someone to. Even if it was fictional characters.
Deciding that was enough for tonight, Janae turned off her kindle and the bedside light, right before her phone rang. Sitting up, one hand reached for the light and the other for her phone. Both excited and worried when she saw it was Damond calling at 11:30.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
“Yes mother, you worry entirely too much for someone your age. Now go pour yourself a glass of alcohol.”
Despite his flippant words he sounded extra tired. “I wouldn’t worry if you weren’t calling me so late, which is unusual. What are we drinking to?”
“You ask so many questions, no wonder you’re a psychologist.”
“Fine, I’m going to get wine. What are you drinking?”
“I’m drinking coffee.”
“This late at night? Damond, you know-”
“Don’t start. I need it, I’m beat. I’ve been going since nine this morning. I ate once and only allowed myself three pee breaks.”
“That was very magnanimous of you.” He just grunted, so she left the phone on the bed while she ran to the kitchen. It only took a minute before she came back to the line, since she had a bottle open already. “Okay I have my drink, so tell me.”
“I finished the book. Eighty-two thousand, five-hundred and thirty-two words. I don’t think I’ve ever written a novel that quick before. It’s rough and I’ll need to do a harsh first revision, but it’s done.”
“That’s wonderful!” Janae was so excited for him. “Congrats! That is a big deal. I’m proud of you for putting your head down and getting it done.”
Did his chest just tighten because a woman he’d known for a couple of months said she was proud of him? Naw, it couldn’t be.
“Thanks, I’m pretty pumped about it too.”
“Well, you don’t sound like it. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I worked myself to death since no one was here to distract me.” Damond told the truth.
“Aww, you poor baby. But it will all be worth it in the end. Now you can launch your new series fairly close together, and this gives you a bit of a breather and time to write the next one. How many were you thinking would go in this series again, six?”
“At least. More if it does well. I’m hoping this becomes my signature series. Which if you look at the Alex Cross books, those have close to thirty. I’ll definitely still branch out and do other stuff, but if you find yourself with a money maker you keep it going. Assuming you can keep the story fresh.”
“True, some of my favorite cozy mystery series, go on forever.”
“Why does it not surprise me that you like watered down thrillers.”
“Hey! To each their own. I’ll let that go since you sound tired enough to be delusional.”
“My bad, you’re right it was unnecessary. You’re also right on the other point. My eyes are crusty and heavy, if I start snoring in the middle of a sentence don’t take it personally.”
“I’ll try not to. If you were so tired Damond, you should have gone straight to bed.”
“No Professor, I had to tell somebody, and the first person that came to mind was you.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say to that or what it implied. She just knew it made her feel special. “In that case I’m very glad you called.”
“Me too.” Damond sighed heavily. “I’ll be heading home tomorrow, I want to see you.”
Janae was glad she was sitting because the words made her weak. They’d talked about a lot of things, but not where their relationship was going. She was relieved he had brought it up.
“I’d really like that. But you sound like you need rest, a lot of it. And probably some real downtime even once you get back.”
“I hate to say it, but you’re right on the money again. I was thinking the weekend after next? We could go out for dinner...does that work for you?”
“Yes it does,” she replied quickly.
“Sure you don’t want to check your schedule?”
“No.” Janae’s tone was serious. “It works, and if it doesn’t I’ll make it work.”
Janae wanted him to understand that she wanted this, and was willing to put effort into it.
“That’s what a man likes to hear. Do me a favor though, you pick a place.”
“I don’t care where we go I-”
“I know and neither do I. Pick a place that sounds good to you and let me know. I just can’t bring my brain to focus on those kinds of details right now. As long as you show up, I don’t care if we eat in a drive-thru.”
She laughed softly. “Got it. Still, I’ll try my hardest to do a little better than that. Damond...”