Chapter 35: I want a house on the beach
"You think you could get away?" Jay spoke into the phone. He took an extra day to stay in Jersey and check out the area.
"What, like right this minute?" Emma asked.
Jay could hear her chuckle, as well as the confusion in her voice.
"Well, I know you can't get away right this minute," Jay rolled his eyes, although he was smiling, "But, if you give your boss or whatever some advance notice, can't you work something out so you can take a couple days off?" Jay queried.
Drumming the fingers of his free hand on his leg, Jay leaned back on the couch in the hotel room he was currently staying at.
"You kind of sound… excited," Emma furrowed her brow, "What's got you so happy?"
She was fully curious. Emma had never seen, nor heard, Jay like this. Part of her wished she could see him now, to see how he looked when he sounded happy.
"Stop avoiding my questions Greenpeace," Jay ordered in a joking manner.
"Okay, jeez," Emma laughed lightly, "I'll ask, okay?"
"Cool," Jay said coolly.
Emma shook her head slightly. He was the one person she knew that was able to sound laidback, yet have a hint of excitement in them.
"Now, answer my questions," Emma demanded in the same joking tone Jay had just previously had, "Are you still in Jersey?"
"Yeah, still here…" Jay paused, "And I love it."
"Really?" Emma inquired, "Tell me about it," Emma settled into her current bed. Lying on her stomach, Emma held the phone between her cheek and her shoulder, and was working on her laptop.
"It's got this… I don't know… it's like New York, but a little quieter," Jay tried to find the right words, "It's got the business of the city, but it still feels like a small town," He concluded.
Emma nodded absent mindedly, but remembered she was on the phone, "Sounds nice," She paused to focus on the design she was working on, "You're near Seaside, right?" She asked.
Jay too, nodded, "Yeah, it's probably about a half hour away, an hour tops," Jay figured.
"I've been there once with Erin. They have the best food," Emma recalled.
"Well, if you can get away from work, we'll walk the boardwalk or something," Jay shrugged as he sat up, and put his elbows on his knees.
"You want me to go to Jersey?" Emma questioned.
"Uh, yeah, that would be the whole point of me asking if you could get away from work for a couple days," Jay answered with a 'duh' tone.
"Right, right," Emma's voice trailed off as she added some minute details to the design she was making.
"You're working on something," Jay told her.
"How'd you know that?" Emma asked, blinking in surprise, yet going right back to the design.
"You sound concentrated," Jay replied, "You want me to call you later or something?" He asked.
"No, no," Emma paused as she fixed some colors, "I can do two things at once."
Jay rolled his eyes and chuckled lightly, "Sure."
"So, you're thinking about moving out to Jersey?" Emma asked, wanting to prove to Jay that she could work and talk to him.
"Yeah, I was thinking about a house near the beach."