“Yeah, him.”
“But I’m . . . he’s not with Kiesha.”
“Yeah, I know. She told me. It seemed like he was.”
“Did you really come to Wishingbone just to see me . . . umm, him?”
She sniffled. “I’m so stupid.”
“You are not stupid,” he said firmly. “And that’s the last time I want to hear you call yourself that.”
“I am stupid.”
“Georgina,” he said in a warning voice.
“Now you’re being bossy Ed. I want dream Ed.”
“Well, dream Ed doesn’t like you saying bad things about yourself, either.”
“But it’s the truth. I was stupid to think that kiss meant anything to real Ed. He probably forgot about it as soon as it happened.”
“What are you talking about? You’re the one that left town. Who didn’t answer my, umm, real Ed’s messages.”
“I know, that’s because I’m a coward as well as stupid.”
“Georgina, you’re going to be in big trouble if you keep calling yourself names.”
“Ooh, what you gonna do, big daddy? You gonna spank me?”
More silence. Dream Ed really needed to stop being so domineering and bossy. Even if she did kind of like it. Just a bit.
“Just a bit, huh? And yeah, I might spank you if you keep disparaging yourself.”
“Real Ed has big hands. I wonder if that means he has a big dick?”
Dream Ed groaned.
“Yeah, I always thought that big hands—big dick thing was a crock,” she muttered. “Another myth gone. Too bad, I’d have enjoyed seeing his big dick.”
“Okay, let’s get this conversation back to you leaving after that kiss and not replying to my messages. Why did you do that?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied. “Go away, dream Ed. And tell that train to go away too.”
Ed sat back, frustrated.
He tried to rouse her again, but it seemed she’d slipped into a deeper sleep. She’d appeared to be half-dreaming. He had no idea why she kept mentioning a train.
Standing, he stretched and yawned. He’d fallen asleep for a few hours. He looked at his watch. It was close to midnight.
His phone buzzed. Had she really come here because of that kiss? But why run in the first place? Why not return his messages? And why pretend she was just here about work?
Seeing that it was Jimmy calling, he stepped out into the corridor. He’d asked him to see what he could discover about Georgina’s family.
“Jimmy, what have you got for me?”
“Got someone listed as her emergency contact. An August James.”
August James?