Forever (This #5 - A Stand-Alone) - SERIES COMPLETE

Chapter 2

Two Weeks Later

Turning in a circle, my eyes survey the books lined on the shelves surrounding the television, the cabinet below it full of movies, and the knickknacks and picture frames on top of the mantle. I don't think I ever realized how much junk I had until it was time to move. My cell rings, and I smile as I see the number. "Hey."

"Whatcha doin'?" Joe asks.

We've not spoken since the wedding. The wedding, where I was a complete and total bitch hell-bent on pushing him away. I plop down on the sofa, hanging onto each of his words like they are the last molecules of oxygen on this earth to fill my lungs. "Procrastinating. You?"

"Bradley just left."

"Right. Saturday. Fishing. Did you catch anything?"

"Yeah. Some Crappie and Bass. Next time you're in town we can have a fish fry."

My heart flutters. "Yeah." Because that wouldn't be awkward at all. "Did you need something?"

Silence.

"Joe..."

"I'm here. I heard you're moving."

Oh. "Yeah. Next month." I rub my hands over the faux suede of the couch. Gabby and I both moved away for a bit to attend undergraduate college, although Gabby's still not finished. She transferred school and got married. I, on the other hand, moved back to this house to attend med school at the Medical College of Charleston. Recently, I decided to transfer to a shorter program at Mercer, in Georgia. Ryan's residency was moved there. "I was attempting at packing when you called. Hence the procrastination."

"So...things are serious with Ryan?"

Cut right to the chase, why don't you? "We're not moving in together."

He breathes into the phone, sending shivers through my body. "That wasn't an answer. It was a statement. Answer my question."

I suck in my bottom lip between my teeth, then swallow.

"Because even if you're not going to live together, the fact you're transferring programs and moving to the same hospital is a statement I had hoped I'd never need to decipher."

"Joe."

"Sam."

"Don't do this."

More silence.

The thumping of my pulse is loud and hard, the rhythm matching his breaths. "Does he make you happy?"

"I wouldn't be with him if he didn't." I get up from the couch and start to pace. "Give me a little bit of credit."

"So. This. With us, it's just friendship for you?"

"Isn't it?"

He chuckles. "You should get an award for evading questions."

My lips curve up as I stare through the window at a toddler in a ruffled monogrammed bikini walking with her parents toward the beach.

"Say something, Sam."

"I don't want to have this conversation with you because...I'm not in a position to tell you what I think you want to hear." I tuck my hand under the arm, holding the phone. "There. I said it. And now this is awkward."

"You think you saying that made this awkward?" I shake my head. "Because the wedding didn't exactly go as I thought it would, and you've given me the fuckin' silent treatment for weeks."