Ever since a string of bad boyfriends left Leigh cynical and dark, she kept her heart closed off. With the help of some dark magic, she sarcastically wishes for a devil to dance with at her cousin's wedding, but her worst nightmare shows up instead...
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You always do this, Charlie. Stupid. Stupid.
Arg. I'm in a funk. It's been almost a week since I saw Leigh at the wedding, and she won't stop dancing through my head. Ugh. She was so pretty, spunky, sexy, and sometimes so endearingly unsure of herself. When she finally smiled at me? Damn! Her whole soul came through—radiant and beautiful.
I know she told me not to text her, but... did she really mean it? I mean, there was a maybe in there, right?
Okay, I actually tried not to, but by the third day, I just couldn't help myself. I texted her to apologize for whatever dumbass thing I said and the way things ended. I just don't know how things went sideways so fast. There was a spark between us—I felt it! And I know she felt it, too. So I texted that to her as well.
I decided it probably went wrong when I asked if she wanted to get out of there.
All I wanted was to go have a drink with her on the patio, someplace quieter, away from the beeps and boops of Gio's dumb-ass raver music he somehow thinks belongs at a wedding. I didn't mean it like I was just trying to get in her pants! Okay, maybe I was a little, but not right then! I didn't get a chance to clarify that, though, so I added that in a long third text.
When she still hadn't replied to any of those two days later, it felt awkward again, so I asked her how her day was going and sent a few more funny texts over the course of the day that would make even the Pope laugh—but crickets. It's been 24 hours since the last one. She must have read them by now!
Unless she blocked my number...
Nah.
I'm sure she laughed but is just still deciding whether to reply to me or not. What can I say to make her talk to me again? Maybe Ren would know...
Today, I've been feeling lethargic, lying on the sofa, and listening to my new Arcade Fire CDs or watching TV—well, Gio and Ren's TV. I've been house-sitting while they've been on a mini honeymoon on the coast. I'm staying a few more days while my stuff gets moved across the country to my new house near the base in New York.
I just made myself some afternoon coffee, hoping for a pick-me-up, but I don't think it's caffeine I need. The spark I felt with Leigh right after we were done dancing just won't leave my body. But it has nowhere to go; it just flies around trapped inside me, and holding it in over the last few days suddenly feels tiring.
I've tried going for a run, working out in Gio's home gym, and even turning on my favorite 80s songs and dancing, but nothing is lifting my mood. If only she texted me back—something.
The sound of a key turning in the lock perks me up to more of a sitting position on the couch. Gio holds the door open with his foot, hauling in two suitcases, one in each hand, and also has several bags slung around his shoulders. Ren scoots by him, just carrying her tiny handbag.
