Derek’s silence scares me more than if he was spouting nonstop and I look at him to make sure he’s still breathing.
“Dude?”
“Holy shit, you really like her.”
I toss a hand up and grab my wallet with the other. “Of course, I do. I wouldn’t be trying this hard if I didn’t.”
“No, I mean, youreallylike her.”
I avoid his gaze and check my appearance in the mirror again.
“Do you love her?”
I give him a look. “No, I don’t love her.”
Derek’s brow rises and he leans against the doorway again. “Are you sure?”
I hesitate. Only because him bringing it up in such a blasé matter has me wanting to hide away from the idea. Could I really be in love with a woman who only just started acting like a friend to me?
The truth was… yeah. I could. I could see myself loving Jane easily. She was beautiful. Smart. Funny in her own weird way.
I had fantasies of us being in on a Friday, her sipping her hot chocolate—which was oddly endearing that she wasn’t looking for cocktails, but something so innocent—and me watching her while I traced the lines on her face to my sketch pad.
It was very Titanic of me and I wasn’t even sorry.
“I don’t have a good answer for that,” I admit and move around him out into the main part of the loft. “But maybe…” I turn on an optimistic tone. “Maybe I will after tonight.”
Chapter Twelve
“A sky full of stars and he was staring at her.”
-Atticus
Jane
“So, what will this be like, The White Stripes? AD/DC? Led Zeppelin?” I ask Warren as we make our way to the doors of the venue. There’s a line that streams out the door and halfway down the block.Hmm. Popular band then.
Warren chuckles beside me. “Um, no, not quite.” I turn to look at him and smile. My arm is looped through his elbow and I hold on tight. I’m sure to anyone else, we look like two really good friends. But to me… well, my heart won’t stop hammering in my chest.
The feelings that have recently surfaced have taken me by surprise. I found myself waiting for Warren’s morning visit now with anticipation and excitement thrumming in my veins.
“These guys are more like… I don’t know. Imagine Dragons.” He looks down at me. “Ever heard of them?”
“Imagine Dragons? I don’t think so. I don’t have a lot of time for just listening to music.”
Warren shakes his head. “How is that possible? You don’t have time to listen to music… That’s insanity.”
“Well, maybe you’ll have to educate me on some music, then,” I tell him, hoping he catches the flirty tone. Did I use a flirty tone? Did that sound flirty? I hope so.
He gives me a look, a little gleam in his eye. “I’d be more than happy to give you an education.” By the low drop in his voice, I would say my attempt at flirting was a hit and the butterflies in my stomach become bats.
We make our way to the front of the will call box and Warren gives his name, I raise a brow in question, and he shrugs sheepishly. “Caleb—he’s the guitarist—always leaves some tickets for me.”
“Wow, you really are friends then?” I try to think of my friends that I had in college and think about how often we talk now. I think I saw a picture of Rebecca, my old roommate, on Facebook saying she got engaged. That’s about as “connected” as I am.
“Yeah, pretty decent friends. We keep in touch now. Last year, they were dealing with some crazy shit and I kinda got caught up in it for a second.”
“Wow, sounds like a story there.”