Sunday. The AC goes out in my car.
B: Tink is sick.
D: Sick? What's wrong?
B: Hot flashes?
D: Cute.
D: Seriously what's wrong with her?
B: AC went out.
D: Girl you need to get your head gasket checked.
B: You offering? 😉
D: You might need more help than I can give ya.
B: Rude
D: JK.
D: Let me look at the schedule tomorrow. See when I can get her in.
B: Thank you.
Monday.
Phone buzzes with a call. I am working at the clinic today and working the front desk. Normally I wouldn't answer the phone, but I see it's Dale's calling me. It's probably Daryl calling about Tink. I ask Noah to cover the phones for a second and I go to the back and answer my phone.
"Hello."
"Hey, it's me." Daryl says on the other line. "Got some bad news. I'm all booked so I won't get to see my favorite girl today?"
"Your favorite girl, huh? You talkin' about me or Tink?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He says playfully.
"Cute." I say sarcastically. "Well when can you make time for your favorite girl?"
"Tink, I can see Wednesday. You? I can see tonight?" His voice raises at the end and it sounds like a question.
Is he asking me out? Awful timing. "Well Tink will absolutely be there on Wednesday. But unfortunately, I have a family dinner tonight. Maggie is introducing Glenn to the family." I hate telling him no.
"Well I guess that answers who my favorite is then." He says lightly but I can tell he's a little disappointed.
"You free tomorrow night?" I say hopeful.
"Yeah." His voice sounds deflated and I pray I haven't blown it.
Tuesday
D: Something has come up.
D: Can't hang tonight. Rain check?
B: No worries. Everything okay?
D: Yup. All is good. See you tomorrow.
Wednesday
When I drop off Tink, Daryl is busy and I can't say hi to him. I haven't talked to him since he texted me yesterday saying he couldn't hang out. He said everything was okay, but I get the feeling he's avoiding me. Maybe I am just being paranoid. When I pick up Tink, he is under another car so once again I don't get to speak to him or even wave. At least Tink's hot flashes have been cured.
Friday
Thankfully, I was just being paranoid. Daryl wasn't and isn't avoiding me. His brother had gotten arrested for being drunk and disorderly on Tuesday. The shop has also been crazy busy this week and he has been working some long hours. He had today off and texted me earlier explaining everything. He told me he was going to rest today and text me later. I look at the clock and it is almost 10 pm and I haven't heard from him since this morning. I just finish an essay for class next week when my phone rings.
"Hello."
"Hi." Daryl says sleepily on the other end of the phone.
I smile. "Well hey there stranger. Did you catch up on some rest?"
"Yeah… it's been a hell of a week." He sighs.
"Well it's over now." I reply. "What are you doing?"
"Not a damn thing. You?"
"Just finished a paper I have due next week. Maggie is out with Glenn tonight so I have the place all to myself."
"Mmm." He hums. "Got any plans this weekend?"
"Well tomorrow. I am going to the bar with Maggie. A friend of ours is in town and wanted to meet up. And Sunday nothing. What about you?"
"Nah. Just gonna hang out here and relax."
"How is your brother?" I inquire.
"Ahh he's fine. Just Merle being Merle. Ain't nothing new." He sounds sad.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." He says too quickly. "Why?"
"You sound sad to me." I say sincerely. "You know if you need to talk, you can talk to me, right?"
"Yeah I know." I can almost hear him smile at me. "I promise I am not sad. Guess I'm just a little lonely." His tone has turned playful again.
If he is fishing for me to come over, I'll bite. "Well we can't have that, can we? You want me to come over?"
"Thought you'd never ask."
We sit on his couch on opposite ends facing each other, eating pizza and laughing. It's good to see him. I've been missing him this week. And I think he has missed me too. I've noticed tonight he keeps touching me. Sometimes it's an accident, like when he bumps his leg into mine while we are talking. We both have our feet on the couch. His knees are bent slightly and his feet are near my butt. My legs are stretched out and my feet are around his thigh. Other times it's not an accident, like right now, he is rubbing my calf as I try to come up with my next question. We've been talking for over an hour and it's morphed into a game asking each other random, ridiculous questions.
"Okay I got one. Do you believe in anything crazy?"
He crinkles his eyebrows in confusion. "Like what?"
"Like ghosts or aliens or big foot or that the moon landing is fake. Things like that?"
"Ever heard of a Chupacabra?" He asks grinning. I laugh and nod. "Well I have seen one."
"No, you have not." I laugh.
"Yes, I have. I's squirrel hunting one day and saw it." I am about to ask him if he is for real as he shrugs, "Course I's high on shrooms at the time." I bust out laughing and he joins with his small chuckle. "What about you? You believe in any of that stuff?"
I debate for a moment. "You have to promise not to laugh." I warn him. He crosses his heart and waits for me to continue. "I believe in aliens."
His lips twitch and he holds in a laugh. "Like little green men or the crazy tall ones with the big heads?"
"Neither." I blush. This is embarrassing. "No. So I believe in God and that God created everything right? The Bible says we, humans, were made in His image. But he created so many other things that weren't in his image, plants, animals, planets. I don't know if there are aliens out there in space… but I think therw could be." I cover my face. "It's stupid I know."
"Nah," he says sincerely. "Ain't nothin about you stupid."
"Well thank you and it's your turn by the way." I remind him.
"Hmm…" he rubs his chin. "How many boyfriends have you had?"
"One…" I debate to include Zach, "… and a half. There was my high school boyfriend. We broke up right after graduation and then there was a guy freshman year of college that strung me along for a couple of months. I considered him my boyfriend and he quickly clarified that he was not. Since then I have dated some but nothing serious."
"Dude's a idiot." I can only assume he means Zach.
"You?" I am very curious to hear his answer.
"Ain't never had no boyfriends."
I nudge him with my foot and roll my eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Never had any girlfriends, either."
My mouth flies open in shock. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. I have hooked up with girls plenty and dated a few. But never liked none enough to call them my girlfriend." He has an unsure look on his face. "Until now."
My heart stops and I stare at him for a long moment. Is he asking me to be his girlfriend? "Really?"
"Yeah… Tink is a great girl."
"Ugh" I take a pillow and throw it at him, annoyed for falling for it. We are just friends. He chuckles and I can't help but laugh too. He's laughing at his joke. I'm laughing at his joke and my own stupidity. "I'm calling it. Game over."
"Wanna watch a movie?"
I know it's late. I should go home, but I am enjoying spending time with him. "Sure. But no scary ones. We always watch a scary movie every time I am over."
"I'm just trying to help you get over your fear." He says innocently.
"Oh is that what you're doin?" I ask.
"I might have ulterior motives." He grins. "But you're right, how about… Smokey and the Bandit?"
"Yes! I love that movie." He puts the movie on and sits right next to me on the couch. I'm getting tired so I lay my head on his shoulder. He responds by putting his arm around me. I curl my legs up next to me and lean into him more. I try not to overthink about the fact we are snuggling or his joke from earlier. We are friends, but this feels more than friends. No. We are just being friendly… aren't we? I don't even know anymore.