"Oh, that's right. I know what it is."
Jon and Craig both looked at us as we approached Carly's car. I went around to the passenger’s side and waited for Carly to open the door when Craig came up beside me.
"How about I call you tomorrow? Perhaps we could go out to a movie or something."
I nodded. “Sure, if you like.” I smiled, looking in Carly's direction. "Can you unlock the door."
"Talk to you tomorrow," Craig said as he leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek just as the locks on the door opened.
I climbed into the front seat and pulled my phone from my pocket. I'd promised Carly I wouldn't check it at dinner tonight, but as soon as I checked my email, I'd wished I'd stayed home.
Carly climbed in the front seat beside me and shoved the key into the ignition, turning the car on. She adjusted the radio and put on her seatbelt, while I sat there staring at my screen.
"Well, that went well. See, I told you Craig likes you. You really need to give him a chance. Oh, and the next time you want to use me for a lie, just tell me ahead of time okay."
"Um..."
"Um what? What are you looking at? Did Craig message you already? Is there love in the air between you two?"
I sat there staring down at my phone, at the email I'd received almost one hour after I'd left the house.
"Ainsley, what is it?" Carly asked, her voice full of concern.
I looked at her, a smile creeping onto my face, and slowly turned my phone for her to see. RomanticAlpha42 had responded to my contact email. I swallowed hard as she read his words.
"What are you going to do about that?" she questioned, looking from the screen then up to me.
"What do you think I'm going to do? I'm going to respond to him," I said. "Now what should I say." I pulled my phone back and hit reply.
"Honestly? I think you should leave it alone, Ainsley. You're playing with fire," Carly said as she put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking spot.
I read the response from him one more time as Carly's words floated through my mind. I blew out a breath, shut the phone off, and shoved it into my purse. I'd sleep on it, and if I still felt I needed to respond in the morning I would, but for now, I was going to follow her advice.
Ainsley
RomanticAlpha42: I'd love to bury my face between those creamy thighs of yours, make you scream for hours.
I feltmy cheeks heat as I smiled to myself. My fingers tapped quietly against the keyboard as I typed out a response to yet another message from RomanticAlpha42. We had been messaging now for a solid two months. We'd barely missed a day. I hit send and relaxed back against my bed's headboard while I waited for a reply.
I flipped through the channels on the TV, and I'd just settled into an episode ofOutlanderwhen my phone rang.
"Hello," I whispered into the phone, trying to be quiet, so I didn't disturb my father who was sure to be asleep by now.
"So has the love of your life, Mr. Spencer Brooks, or should I say RomanticAlpha42, confessed his love for you yet?" Carly giggled into the phone.
I rolled my eyes as I checked to see if I had any new messages but was quickly disappointed when I saw that nothing had come through. In fact, he hadn't even read what I'd sent back yet.
"It's just harmless fun. Plus, I don't even know if it's really him!" I replied as I watched the three little dots bounce on the screen letting me know he was typing something. Suddenly, a little check mark appeared on our chat, and I clicked to open the new message and read the words on my screen.
"I can't believe you're actually engaging with people on there." She laughed. "If you ask me, it’s kind of creepy, talking to people you don't know."
Truth was, when my trial had expired, I'd let it lapse for two days, but then I was so curious to see if he would continue speaking with me that I ended up paying for a month, followed by another, and yet another because I was enjoying speaking with whoever it was I was speaking to so much. Deep down I'd prayed it was Spencer, but of course, I wouldn't ever know until I met the person—if I ever met the person.
"Not people," I corrected. "I'm only interacting with one person."
Carly let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that. One person you believe to be Spencer. So, what does Mr. Romance have to say? Is he as smooth as you'd hoped?"
I had barely heard a word Carly had said as I read the message that sat on my screen. "Oh my God, you're not going to believe this."