Now or Never(28)
She sifted through several bills and junk mail addressed to Ashlyn, c/o Andrew Mills—her father, Em assumed—and wondered why her friend bothered to work at all, until a small package caught her attention. The metallic green paper glinted in the morning light as she examined the tag.
Em. That was all it said. No mailing address. No return address. No stamp. Whoever delivered this had done so in person. She could only think of one person who would do that.
Why he hadn’t just spoken to her at work didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was reaching out to her. Yesterday was a mistake. A terrible mistake. He’d gone home, thought about it, and this gift was his way of apologizing. It was completely unnecessary, but Em was practically giddy with excitement when Ash came into the living room to find her tearing into the package like a two-year-old on Christmas morning.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know. It’s from J—” The package fell open and a small, sleek black cellphone stared back at her. Her heart sank. Jay couldn’t afford something like that.
Some song Em didn’t recognize began pouring from the box and she nearly fumbled it in surprise.
“It’s ringing!” Ashlyn squealed. This was some kind of exciting mystery to her, whereas it had Em’s stomach in a tangle of knots.
“What do I do?” She lifted the phone carefully out of the box to examine it closer as though it were some kind of alien technology beyond her understanding.
“Try answering it, Em.”
“How do I do that?” She hadn’t used cell phones very often and the one she remembered her uncle having had a little green phone to answer and a red one to hang up. This one had no phones. It didn’t have any buttons at all. It was just a screen with a number flashing on it that she didn’t recognize.
“The bar! Slide the bar down!”
“What?”
“The . . . Give it to me! They’re going to hang up.” Ashlyn snatched the phone from her hands and finagled it until they both heard a voice coming through loud and clear. She’d somehow managed to turn on the speaker phone in the process. By accident, Em was sure.
“Hello?” The voice was familiar and Em stifled a groan as a wide grin broke out on Ashlyn’s face.
“Mason?”
“Hey, Em. So you got the phone?”
“Yes, I did. Thank you, Mason, but I can’t accept—”Ashlyn smacked her hard enough in the shoulder to cut her off.
“It’s not a gift, Em. It’s just a loaner until you can get your own.”
“I don’t know—”
“Don’t be stubborn about this, Em. I swear this isn’t me hitting on you, or some kind of ‘move’, I just . . . worry about you. And I don’t want to have to.”
“I’m fine, Mas—”
“What if you have more car trouble, or get lost . . . or hurt? It isn’t just about you, either. You and Ashlyn are alone over there. What if something happens to her and you need to call for help, but you can’t find or don’t know how to use her phone?” He was fighting dirty and Ashlyn was no help at all, nodding away like she was just as concerned about her own safety.
“I don’t know how to use this phone,” Em pointed out.
“I’ll teach you. Or Ashlyn can. Just keep it, Em. Just until you get your own. It’ll make me feel better, okay? Please?”
Em sighed. “Fine, Mason. I’ll keep the phone. For now.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
The screen turned black when he disconnected and Ashlyn handed it back to her. Em flopped back against the couch cushions with a groan. “What am I going to do with him?”
“I think you should date him.” Ashlyn’s grin was pure mischief. “That’s what Jay wants you to do, isn’t it? Date other people?”
“Mason? Have you lost your mind?”
“No. But, Jay will.”
“Ash.” Em shook her head. “I don’t want to play games with him. And I certainly don’t want to use Mason to do it.”
“Then, don’t. Date him because he’s a nice, sweet guy who’s had a crush on you since, like, forever.”
“That’s exactly why I shouldn’t date him. I don’t feel the same way about him. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“It’s exactly why you should,” Ashlyn argued. “Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of guys out there like Jay, but at least we know Mason. At least we know he’ll be good to you until Jay gets his shit together.” She was quiet for a moment before continuing. “And if he doesn’t—”