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FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 26- Hannah
I shouldn’t have asked him. I should have sent him a quick “you’re welcome” and moved on with my life. But I made the mistake of glancing up and viewing the green kitchen appliances from the couch covered in thick plastic where I currently sat, and I got desperate to check out of my life. To just spend a few minutes talking to someone else who might have things worse than I did. I mean, his life must be horrific to keep putting up with those ridiculous dates in the search of “the one.”Tall, Dark & Desperate: To understand the mysteries of this life, one must first understand Pam Cunningham.I searched my brain for every notable female I’d learned about in my women’s history class in college, but came up empty. Me: I could Google her…or you could just tell me…Tall, Dark & Desperate: She’s my mother. And she’s persistent in ways not understandable unless you are her progeny. She has four sons and somehow has it in her head that we all need her help finding our match.I groaned and se
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 27- Lincoln
I had a girlfriend. Okay, a fake girlfriend. It was still a pretty novel concept for a guy who’d been on his own for a very long time.By choice, of course.I went to bed that night struggling with the concept. In one corner of my mind was Hannah’s encouraging smile, the warm one she’d given me as I’d finally escaped Paint It, Pal this afternoon. That smile lit up something dark and deep inside me, but I really didn’t want to think too much about that. It made me uncomfortable, and stirred up some dusty memories. In the other corner of my sleepy mind was my mother, her shining eager eyes as she pursued her relentless quest for matching up each of her boys. I could only imagine how thrilled she would be when I introduced her to Hannah, though my memory of Hannah’s poor acting skills had me a little worried. And I didn’t want to hurt Mom by having her find out I’d tried to pull one over on her. So it would take some finesse—not something I excelled at. I woke up to the persistent vib
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 28- Hannah
I’d just gotten out of my paint splattered jeans and T-shirt when I heard tires crunching over the gravel driveway out front. My brain knew this wasn’t a real date, but tell that to my feet practically dancing right off the old hardwood floor that needed to be sanded and refinished. I threw on a cropped sweater and ripped jeans, heading to get the door on bare feet. There was no doorbell, and I wasn’t confident in the front door withstanding a knock from a grown man, so I figured I’d better meet him as he got out of his car.“Hey, boyfriend!” I called out as I stepped onto the front porch.Lincoln looked up as he unfolded his frame from one of those quiet electric cars that snuck up on me when I went on my runs. He smiled at me, a lock of his thick, unruly hair sliding onto his forehead. With the vineyard behind him and the golden hour sunlight filtering through the trees in the front yard, he looked like he was posing for a magazine.“We might need to work on our nicknames,” was all
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 28.1
“Talking?” I walked over to have a seat next to him. I didn’t mean to frustrate him, but I did think getting to know each other would help sell this fake relationship. I didn’t want to meet his mom without some cursory knowledge of my supposed boyfriend.Lincoln nodded, no longer meeting my gaze. “Yes. Talking. Communicating. Knowing what to say when.”I shrugged, feeling for him. “Just say whatever you want. We’re not actually dating, Lincoln.” I put my hand on his knee and felt him flinch at my touch. “You can’t hurt my feelings or make me break up with you. That’s the beauty of our arrangement. Just be yourself, okay?”Lincoln tilted his head and shrugged. “Okay. If Paint It, Pal isn’t your dream job, what is?”I grinned just thinking about it. “Great question. I want to own my own business. Be independent. Make my own choices.” I leaned closer like my innermost dreams were a secret that needed to be whispered. “I actually think the paint thing would be cool for adults. Half wine b
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 29- Lincoln
“You’re sure she’s coming?” Mom asked me for the thousandth time, looking anxiously around as guests began arriving for the event she’d just decided would be called “Friday Fling.” There were people milling around outside the winery, a band set up on a low stage at the edge of the parking lot, and food trucks lining the drive. It was warm and the sun was just beginning its sweep down the western sky.I’d known Hannah only a few days, but she didn’t seem like the type who would say she’d be somewhere and then not come. “I’m sure.”Mom went back to fussing with the centerpiece on one of the long picnic tables, and just as I leaned in to help her, a sound like a shot rang out through the air. A few people nearby screamed, and without meaning to do it, I’d leapt over the table and pressed my mother to the ground, evidently planning to take a bullet for her if necessary.“Lincoln, get off!” Mom complained, pushing me off of her as we both realized it hadn’t been a gunshot, but a car backfi
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 30- Hannah
Oh, no. My brain was screaming “abort,” but my body kept swaying to the music, inching ever closer to Lincoln like a moth to Aunt Betty’s old closet. Lincoln’s mom was so sweet and even if I felt she was a little over involved in her son’s lives, I guessed being recently widowed could do that to a person. But Pam’s over involvement was not to blame for me grabbing Lincoln and dragging him on to the makeshift dance floor. Some long- buried hormones were responsible for that wrong move, and I’d be having a stern talking to with them later tonight.Conversation between us died as we swayed on the edges of the dance floor, but maybe it was because our bodies were doing all the communicating. Unlike some of our conversations, absolutely none of this dance was awkward. And for a guy who didn’t want to dance, he sure stayed out there a long time. Other than breaks for food and conversation he couldn’t get out of, Lincoln kept us out on the dance floor. The band was winding down by the time I
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 31- Lincoln
My mind does its best work when I’ve spent a couple hours pushing my body through hard labor. Whether it's hauling boxes in the warehouse or— my preference—putting in time under the sun along the endless marching rows of a vineyard, something about the physical activity helps my mind calm a bit.I’d found that same kind of mental peace in the gym or through running. I wasn’t a guy who had a calm, quiet mind naturally. I’d actually tried meditation at one point in college when I was struggling with focusing for classes, but what I’d found was that the hamsters constantly turning those mental wheels only slept if they were completely worn out.So when Mom called after I’d spent a few long sweaty hours in the vineyard working with Hannah, I’d accepted her dinner reservation as I imagined most normal guys who were interested in impressing a woman might.But as I showered and dressed back at my house, recovering both physically and mentally from the day’s exertion, the hamsters got back to
FALLING IN LOVE WHEN YOU'RE TEXTING 32- Hannah
Why, oh why did the normally awkward and frustrated with general conversation Lincoln have to look so dang good dressed up? He looked like some sort of GQ cover model who’d come to sweep me off my feet with his perfectly tousled hair, square jaw, and smoking finger. Okay, the finger was my fault. Or technically Aunt Betty’s for never fixing the doorbell, but Lincoln’s overall presentation was smoking hot, which meant I was officially screwed for tonight. How could I be expected to remember he was only my fake boyfriend when he told me I was beautiful right before nearly slamming the door in my face yet again?“Hannah?”Lincoln’s voice jolted me from my thoughts. I was trying to remember some jokes from when I used to babysit in high school for extra cash, but so far all I had was “knock-knock.” I couldn’t remember the rest, which was truly sad since there were like a million knock-knock jokes to choose from.“Sorry, what?”He twisted the side of his lips up, probably amused that it wa
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