Far Love (Book 1)

10 | Making plans

September 1st, 2023

It has been a week since my encounter with Jason, and I still feel shaken up. Every time I go outside my apartment—which isn't a lot—I'm constantly looking over my shoulder.

At this moment, I look over my shoulder as I cross the street and Dylan says, "Yeah and the thing was, two months later, she broke up with him."

"Huh? So she gave him her manager's information, got him his dream job when he was eighteen... then just broke things off like that? Who is this guy?"

"Orlando Collins."

I almost spit my coffee out of my mouth as I walk to the front doors of my apartment building. "What?"

"Yeah. I know, and they never talked about it either. He kept going off and writing songs and she kept doing her thing. I don't think they even spoke a word after that day."

"I'm sorry, but if I gave you a job opportunity that was life-changing, I think I would take offense to it if you kept using it after we broke up." I blush at the mention of us being in a relationship. We aren't anywhere close to one, but it is clear that that is the plan between us.

He laughs over the line, which makes me bite my lip. "Are you back in your building now?" he asks.

"Just walked up, walking in now."

"Good, do you want to stay on the phone?"

Ever since I told him about Jason, he had insisted on me telling him and calling him when I was out. At first, I thought it was just a reason to talk, but now I think it's probably to distract me from being scared.

I look at the time, "Yeah, but only a little bit, because you need to sleep soon."

I can hear the sigh through the phone which makes me smile. "You're lame, it's only nine."

"Yeah, but you have a game tomorrow."

He chuckles through the line, "Can I hear a story from you?"

I pale, "I don't really have any stories."

"You have to have something."

"I grew up in Beaverton, what do you think I have to tell you?"

He laughs, "Touché."

I roll my eyes, "I and Mara met before we met Nina. We used to go into stores with her mom and steal candy bars in the checkout. She never knew until one day where we grabbed one prematurely and her mom grounded us for months."

"Her mom grounded you both?"

I nervously laugh, "We don't have to get into that."

"I'm curious." He stretches out the last word.

"My dad put me up for adoption, and Mara's mom was our teacher, she saw my situation and thought to take it into her own hands." No need to bring the fact that my mom died up—or the fact that my father didn't put me up for adoption, but abandoned me.

"That," he doesn't get to finish because I cut him off.

"Don't feel too bad, I was like five."

"Are you sad about it?"

I shrug and say, "Not really. Amy is a great mother, and I love her so much like a mother. She cared for me just as her own daughter."

"That's sweet. I'm glad you ended up with someone so caring."

"I am too." I'm really thankful.

I unlock the door to the apartment and lock it behind me. Mara and Nina are on the couch and watching, The Prince and Me, for the fifth time this month. I put Dylan on speaker so I can straighten up the living room and kitchen. It had been a busy week and none of us were able to clean.

"Is that Dylan?" I hear Mara screech from the couch.

"Yes," he replies.

She runs over and grabs my phone. "When are you going to be in California again? I miss you."

"You met him once... Barely," I tell her.

She waves me off, "When Dylan?"

"Probably for winter break, I don't have the time right now."

"Well get your ass over here soon. Rylie wants to see you, and bring one of your hot teammates."

I roll my eyes, "You don't have to,"

He cuts me off and says, "Landon's family lives in LA so he'll probably come with me."

"Which ones that?" she asks.

"Running back," he tells her.

I walk to my room and announce I'm getting changed. When I emerge, Mara and Nina are now standing at the counter with Dylan on FaceTime now. "Yeah she's been moping around since you left."

I sigh, Had I been moping though?

I grab the phone from them, "Okay goodnight you guys, love you."

"Love you," I hear them both say. I close the door behind me.

"Sorry about them, they can be a little much."

He chuckles, "It's fine. But I don't know how you live with them. I'd get exhausted since they are so hyper."

I shrug as I prop my phone on the counter of my
bathroom connected to my room. "You get used to it, though having them both going to classes everyday does help," I chuckle.

I pull my hair up into a messy bun and grab some of my skin care products. I look down at the phone as I apply a lotion and see Dylan is staring at me.

"What?" I giggle as I look up at the mirror again.

"You're just beautiful," he says in a groggy voice. He's laying on his front on a bed with a pillow under his chest.

I smile at myself in the mirror, "You don't look too bad yourself."

He chuckles and I hear rustling over the phone. I look down at the dark screen and watch him get out of bed. I look at his face as he turns lights on throughout his house and he walks to the kitchen. I watch him grab a box of cookies from the top shelf. His muscles constricting and stretching to reach.

Hot.

I find myself giggling, "Cookies?"

"You're laughing at me?"

I struggle to pull my lips back down, "No, I'm not."

"I like them," he opens the box and grabs one out. "If you were here with me I'd share though."

My lips drop a fraction at that thought. Being near him sounded heavenly, and it was tempting.

Probably noticing my lack of focus on my phone now, he says, "Do you want to visit sometime?"

My lips tip up just a little, "I have..." It's then I realize
I have nothing holding me in California. I make most of my money at the cafe, yes, but Marla and Rob are pretty much family so whenever I want time off, I am able to take it. I have an inkling that they would be totally fine with it. Not to mention they would probably be ecstatic to learn I was spending my time off with Dylan, who they seemed to know as well. "I don't have anything holding me back in LA so I can probably visit for a couple of days."

He smiles wide as I smile down at the phone. It's silent for a while before I cut the tense quiet. "Think we just took the next step?" I joke.

He smiles and there seems to be a tint of pink on his cheeks. Neither of us have said we were going toward that point, but we both knew it. The only reason we haven't gone to the next stage, is because we can't. We are literally hundreds of miles apart and it would be more of a trip than usual.

"I think we did," he finally says. I can hear and see the smile on his face.

🪿
Oh the next step? 😏

🪿
Katelynn J. Peterson

Published: April 10th, 2023