Love on the Line Page 7

  “Wouldn’t that be something?” she said to herself.

  Thankful for light traffic, and the fact that not many others decided to head to the park at 6:30, she easily found a parking spot in the small lot. A handful of cars where present, but she didn’t see any occupants, and looking around, others nearby were heading to the heart of the park where the balloons were getting ready to launch.

  Before she exited her car, AJ decided to send a text to Jen, letting her know the change of plans, and if she didn’t hear from her by ten, to send the police. She added several winking emojis and assured her friend she was confident in what she was doing. She also stated she’d still like her and Kayli to plan to meet later at the 10 Barrel Brewing Company, as originally discussed. Satisfied with her decision, she got out of her car, locked it, and wandered toward the greenbelt running adjacent to the Boise River.

  AJ passed a couple who gave her a curious stare as both their glances took in her attire, but she didn’t care. She just smiled and continued on, actually glad for the coat due to the brisk early September morning. Somehow, within just a few days, it’s as if they turned that corner toward autumn as the mornings grew cooler and it took longer for the sun to rise.

  As AJ reached the greenbelt and looked out over the river, she admired the pristine water flowing over rocks and a few downed trees. She loved living here, with fresh air, clean conditions, and a plethora of activities to enjoy. And she very much hoped that after meeting Mathias, they’d hit it off beautifully and could enjoy many activities together.

  Checking her phone, she had two minutes until she was supposed to meet him, so she headed back toward the lot. As she approached, she was surprised to see it had filled up, and more people were making their way across the grass toward the balloons.

  AJ quickly scanned the vehicles, not seeing anyone standing about, but as she neared a silver SUV, a figure emerged from between it and another. Her eyes widened, as did her mouth, as she took in his attire of black tights, gold breastplate, and flowing red cape. He even held a replica of Thor’s hammer in his hand.

  But more surprising than that were the glasses on his face, and the deep blue eyes behind them. And the cute cleft in his chin.

  The stranger from the park! The same man from the bar at the Grove!

  “Mathias?” AJ asked hesitantly, not taking another step.

  His eyes softened and a smile started to form on his lips. “It’s me, Amelia Jane.” He stopped within a few feet of her.

  “Wh … how?” She shook her head to clear her confusion. What are the odds this would be Mathias? And before she knew it, she was voicing her concerns. “From the park. From the bar,” she said softly. “What are the odds it’s you?” As AJ studied his face, she saw a change in his eyes, a furrow in his brow. He actually began to look uncomfortable. “What is it?” she asked.

  Mathias expelled a breath and said words that stole hers. “I, uh, I have a confession. I knew who you were all along.”

  AJ instinctively took a step back. “What?”

  “That night in the bar, when I first saw you, you looked so beautiful. You sat alone for some time, and I finally worked up the courage to go talk to you. But then you looked, panicked, and you couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

  “I—”

  Mathias rushed on, taking a step toward her. “Something about you struck me right in the chest, Amelia Jane. I just had to find you. I had to get to know you.”

  “This is unbelievable. So, how … when … I don’t understand.” AJ shook her head. “How did you know I was on Flirt Chat and that we’d connect?” She looked up at him, wanting answers, wanting to believe this wasn’t some elaborate setup.

  “I didn’t. Until Jen.”

  “Jen? What does she have to do with this?”

  “After you and she left the bar, later when she came back, she spoke to me. She said she’d seen me trying to make my way to you.” Mathias chuckled. “She took me off to the side and actually grilled me for thirty minutes. She thought I might have done something untoward to you, something to scare you.”

  “You did,” AJ couldn’t help but blurt out.

  “What? No. All I wanted to do was talk to you.”

  “I wasn’t ready to talk to someone like you.”

  “Someone like me?”

  AJ waved her hands about. “Someone with all this gorgeousness! I didn’t trust anyone, not after what Brad did to me. You take one look at me and decide I’m a pretty face so you start to move—”

  “It wasn’t like that at all,” Mathias said, his voice raising. “I saw a beautiful woman who helped her friend out of an embarrassing situation. I saw a beautiful woman who looked sad yet yearned for the uninhibited fun her other friend was having. Do you know how hard it was for me to get up the nerve to try to talk to you?”

  “Right,” AJ said, her sarcasm evident. “Because someone like you couldn’t get any woman he wanted.”

  “Appearances are deceiving, AJ. If anyone should know that, you should.”

  She reared back as if slapped. “I sure as hell should. So, what, you tell Jen you’ve just got to get to know me and you two concoct this plan for us to hook up through Flirt Chat?”

  “Basically, yes.”

  “What? You admit to this setup?” She took another step back, uncaring that they were receiving curious stares from others.

  Mathias took another step and closed the gap she had widened. “Yes, AJ, I do. After talking with Jen, quite extensively, mind you, and our mutual friends vouching for my character, she told me of your situation and your reluctance at meeting someone. We really do have a lot in common, you and me. So, we thought—Jen mostly—that instead of me simply asking you out or her arranging another meeting, this would be the best approach.”

  “Oh, you did, did you? How very kind of you. Both of you.” AJ spun away, wanting an escape, wanting to get away from this bizarre scenario.

  Mathias gently touched her arm. “AJ, please, let me explain more.”

  She shook off his touch and glared at him. “Why? So you can tell me more lies?”

  “No, I told you you’d only hear the truth from me.”

  “Really? You never thought to mention in all our conversations, or hey, when I practically bowled you over in the park, that, gee, this is all an elaborate arrangement among friends?”

  “That incident in the park was purely coincidental, I promise. And never in our conversations was there a situation which prompted me to confess.”

  “Hence, you never lied. Isn’t omission basically a lie?”

  “I felt justified. I loved our talks, the connection we were making, and I know you did, too.”

  When he took another step toward her, she backed away. She spoke through clenched teeth. “Don’t you tell me what I did or did not enjoy. Don’t tell me your friends vouched for your character when you do something like this. Don’t—”

  “AJ, please.” He closed the distance and took hold of her arms. When she tried to shake him off, he held on. “Please, AJ,” he pleaded. “Despite how this came about, you can’t deny there’s something between us. The things we’ve shared, talked about, experienced.” His heated stare told her he was talking about last night, their orgasms while talking to one another.

  AJ felt her face flush and started to look away, but Mathias gave her arms a squeeze and started again.

  “Please believe me, at first I didn’t want to go along with Jen’s plan, because I knew how it would look. Deceitful.”

  “Ya think?” AJ snorted. She hung her head as tears gathered, and she felt more the fool for that.

  “AJ, please…”

  She managed to shake off his hold and take a step back, wiping at her eyes. “No, Mathias. The truth is, you did. You went along with this plan. You’re damn right it was deceitful. How do you expect to build a relationship when it starts out like that?” When he tried to talk, she cut him off. “No. Nothing you can say will change it. Nothing you say wi
ll make this right.”

  She took another step away and began to dig through her bag for her key fob. When she found it, she clicked her locks and quickly made her way to her vehicle. Mathias was fast on her heels, still trying to plead his case. AJ whirled on him.

  “Stop. How would you feel if the tables were turned? If you were in my situation? You can’t tell me you wouldn’t be upset! Lose my number, Mathias, because I never want to hear from you again.”

  AJ ran the last few steps to her car and jumped inside, locking the doors and starting it up. She barely had the presence of mind to look around to make sure she wasn’t going to run someone over or back into another vehicle. Speeding out of the lot, she didn’t give Mathias another glance. Tears came faster as she sped toward home.

  Then the anger came.

  When she parked in her garage, she pounded on the steering wheel and screamed her frustration to the world. After a few moments, when her sobs quieted, she pulled herself out of the car and entered her house. She threw her bag and keys on the counter and shrugged out of the coat. Fresh tears began anew at the wasted effort on her outfit.

  “And I didn’t even get to enjoy the balloons,” she choked out in the silence of her living room. “How could you, Jen?”

  AJ sank to her couch and curled up into a ball, letting her emotions pour out.

  ****

  Good God, that pounding needs to stop, AJ thought. She pried open her eyes, realizing she was still on her couch and wasn’t sure how much time had passed. What she thought to be a pounding in her head was actually a pounding on her door.

  “Go away,” she croaked, wincing at her dry, sore throat. Carefully, she sat up, instantly feeling dizzy and wanting to lie back down. Only whoever the hell was at her door wasn’t relenting.

  “Amelia Jane, open this goddamned door!” Jen’s voice easily carried through the thick wood.

  AJ could only groan, nowhere near ready to face her “friend.” Slowly standing, she ignored Jen’s protests and made her way into the kitchen for a drink. After guzzling some water, she shouldn’t have been surprised to hear her front door being unlocked and opened. Both Jen and Kayli had keys to her place, as she did for theirs, in case of emergencies. Obviously, Jen thought this was one of those times.

  “AJ!” Jen yelled.

  “Stop your hollering, I’m fine,” AJ called out.

  “See, I told you she’d be fine,” Kayli said.

  AJ snorted at Kayli’s comment, knowing she was anything but fine.

  “She’s anything but fine,” Jen said right before entering the kitchen and coming to a halt in front of AJ. “What the hell happened? Are you all right? And why the hell are you dressed like that?”

  AJ could only imagine what she looked like after her crying jag and sleeping in a ball on the couch. Her makeup was probably all over her face, hair a mess, and clothes rumpled. She straightened and gathered some semblance of strength.

  “I’m dressed like this because I was meeting Mathias this morning, as you are well aware. And no, I’m not fine. How could I be fine when one of my best friends and a stranger at a bar scheme to get me to meet said stranger under false pretenses? How could I be fine when I have the most amazing conversations with a stranger, think I’m falling for him, and learn that it’s all a charade?” Her strength was quickly waning. “How could you, Jen? And did you know about this, Kayli?”

  “No, no, I promise,” Kayli said emphatically. “Only on the way over here just now did Jen tell me what was going on after she received a call from Mathias. He was really worried about you. He’s really sorry,” she added with her own special kind of tenderness.

  AJ looked to Jen and thought she actually saw regret and remorse. Too bad. She wasn’t getting any sympathy from her.

  “I don’t give a damn if he’s sorry, which he should be, but it doesn’t excuse what happened. And you, my friend,” she pointed at Jen, “are no kind of friend at all to pull some shit like that. How could you, Jen? How could you?” AJ closed her eyes against the fucking tears that just wouldn’t stop. When she felt arms circle her, she instinctively reached out in return, holding on tight to Jen.

  “I’m so, so sorry it went down like this,” Jen started. “I really am. Damn his honor for coming clean.”

  AJ choked on a sob. “Really? So we could start off a relationship on a lie, never to be revealed? What kind of trust does that inspire?”

  Jen pulled back and stared at AJ. “Admittedly, none. But we really did have the best of intentions.” When AJ snorted and started to pull away, Jen held tight to her arms and carried on. “Really, we did. And if it’s any consolation, Mathias was really, really reluctant to go along with my plan.”

  “Yet he did anyway.”

  “Only because I can be very persuasive, and I convinced him it’d all work out. That you’d see the humor in this and still give him a chance.”

  “Humor? Nothing about this is humorous.”

  “But he really is perfect for you. Your reluctance to meet anyone was holding you back.”

  “Don’t you think I should have had some decisions in this? Maybe you could’ve convinced me to go to the bar again, meet him, have the courage to engage in conversation myself.”

  “Maybe,” Jen said softly. “I was just giving you a nudge, speeding up the process.”

  “It was wrong, Jen. And again, why the push to have me meet someone? Why should my happiness revolve around having a guy in my life?”

  Kayli chose that moment to speak up after watching the exchange up to this point. Jen released AJ, taking a small step to the side. “Didn’t we go over this just last weekend? What, are you going to turn into some lonely spinster with no joy in your life? I know you won’t turn into a cat lady, because you hate cats.”

  “Well, hate is a bit strong,” AJ said defensively.

  “Pssh, whatever, you hate cats, and that’s fine.” Kayli crossed her arms, looking from AJ to Jen and back to AJ. “What Jen did, she went about it the wrong way, even if her heart was in the right place.” When Jen started to protest, Kayli held up a hand to halt any comments she wanted to make. “Uh, uh, don’t. You know it was the wrong approach, given what AJ went through with Brad, yet you did it anyway.”

  “Thank you,” AJ said.

  “However,” Kayli started again, “maybe this wasn’t a total fuck-up after all.”

  Both AJ and Jen just gaped at Kayli, never having heard her talk like this in all their years of friendship.

  Kayli just waved a hand at them both. “So, yeah, this is the new Kayli. I’m going to speak my mind more often. Get used to it.”

  “I like it,” Jen stated, giving her a wide smile.

  “Me, too,” AJ added.

  “Okay, can we all go have a seat and talk through this?” Jen asked.

  “I need to pee and wash my face first, but fine, we’ll talk,” AJ said, making her way out of the kitchen and toward the stairs. Once she took care of herself and returned to the living room, Jen and Kayli were seated, each holding mugs of tea. AJ noticed a third mug on the table waiting for her.

  “Thanks,” she said as she sat and picked up the cup of warm comfort.

  “Okay, so I’m really sorry,” Jen said. “When I cornered Mathias at the bar and had a long chat with him, I just knew he’d be perfect for you, AJ. And I only want to see you happy. You have so much spirit and joy to share, and, well, he went through some crap as well, and I knew you two could be so good for each other.”

  “Jeez, you’re like a broken record,” AJ mumbled.

  “Yeah, well, sometimes you need to hear things over and over before they finally start to sink in. So, are they sinking in?” Jen asked with a sassy smile on her face.

  “Maybe,” AJ mumbled again with the mug pressed to her lips.

  “AJ,” Kayli spoke up. “I didn’t get a chance to meet Mathias, but from what Jen told me about him, and from the change I heard in you just last night, can’t you admit there’s something between you
two? You haven’t sounded that happy in years.”

  AJ set her mug down and sighed. “Yes, okay? Yes, there’s something between us. Our talks have been the best thing for me. Besides being friends with you two. He’s smart and funny, and he’s got his life on track. I was already falling hard just from our conversations alone. And then to find out he really is the cute guy from the bar who also happened to be the stranger I ran into at the park. And he’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen.”

  “Stranger from the park?” Kayli asked. “You ran into him at the park?”

  “Yes, but he swears it was purely coincidental. And thinking back on the way he acted, he was genuinely surprised to see me, kind of taken aback, flustered, you know? Then he rushed off like his pants were on fire. Which at the time was really disappointing. But, whatever.”

  “Did he tell you about Christina?” Jen asked. “His fiancé?”

  “He has a fiancé?” Kayli squealed.

  “Had, he had a fiancé. After years together, she suddenly fell in love with someone else and left him.”

  “Yes, he told me,” AJ admitted.

  “He’s had a rough time, too, hun. Women would judge him on his looks and come on to him with certain expectations. He’s not a playboy, but was viewed as one. Even men can have self-esteem issues. They can be just as reluctant as women, you know? Not to mention his pushy friends always trying to hook him up with someone.”

  “Gee, I wouldn’t know what that’s like, now would I?” AJ smirked. She was beginning to see the loving motive behind Jen’s actions. And trying to see the situation from Mathias’s point of view, although still not totally excusable, was beginning to sink in.

  “I see the wheels turning,” Jen said. “Are you ready to give him another try?”

  “What if he doesn’t want one after all? He practically pleaded for me to give us a chance, coming clean right when we met. Then I go off on him, but rightfully so at the time. I mean, it was a shocking discovery.”