'Paige? Do you have me in your phone?'
'Yes, but only because you keep caling me al the time.'
Around me harried mothers squawked at their kids and I
cupped a hand over the mouthpiece.
'Where are you?'
I sighed. 'Jungle Java.'
'You got Arty?'
'No. Jeremy and Tyler.'
Austin was silent for a few seconds. 'Can I come over?'
A screaming child ran by me with his mother in hot pursuit.
The clerk brought the pizza to my table and I craned my
neck to motion for my brothers to come and get their food
before it got cold. Both of them saw me but ignored me.
'Little bastards.'
'Huh?'
I'd heard what he said, but pretended I hadn't. 'Austin, I
have to go.'
'You haven't returned any of my messages.' Austin didn't
sound pissed off, but I went immediately on the defensive.
Some tunes just don't change, you know?
'Sorry. I didn't know I was beholden to you.'
'Paige, you're not. I'm just saying…I thought maybe we
were past some shit. Christ. Why do you have to beat me
up?'
'You caled me,' I pointed out. 'What do you want?'
'What do I always want when I cal you?'
'I'm busy,' I said flatly.
He didn't take offense at that, either. 'I can be there in,
like, ten minutes.'
'In ten minutes the pizza wil be al gone and the boys wil
have burned through their tokens.'
'Seven minutes.'
'Austin…' I sighed and gestured again, standing to make
sure Jeremy and Tyler couldn't ignore me again. 'Why?'
'See you.'
He hung up before I could say anything else, but then my
He hung up before I could say anything else, but then my
phone gave its tel-tale buzz and I puled it from my pocket
to read the next update.
Halfway through The Life of Brian. Thinking of ice cream.
Again, I didn't reply.
Just the fact he was obeying me had my mind whirling with
al sorts of possibilities. Distracted, I was too busy handing
out soggy pizza and supervising refiling drinks to think
about Austin. It wouldn't be the first time my high school
boyfriend turned ex-husband had promised to meet me
someplace and didn't show. So when I saw a familiar
wheat-gold head moving toward me through the crowd, al
I could do was sit back in my seat with half a slice of pizza
