Chapter Six James

Surprise wasn't quite a strong enough word when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. The moment my gaze fell on the screen and saw the message, my jaw fell open.

Unknown: Hey James, it's Rowan.

I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The cute grumpy boy from the beach was texting me? He actually used my phone number? After his rejection, I was a million percent certain I'd never hear from him again. Why would I? He wasn't into men and he definitely didn't seem to be into me. But there was his message on my screen and it filled my mind with a thousand different questions.

I forced myself to take a step back, checking myself before my thoughts ran away from me. He told me he wasn't into guys and he didn't seem very fond of my compliments, so I could forget all about that possibility right now. However, I had offered to be his friend and show him around. That part he seemed less averse to, but still a bit on the fence. If he was texting me for anything, it was just to be friends. Nothing more was ever going to come of it.

Curbing that last tiny spark of hope in my chest was difficult and as much as I tried, I could still feel it there. So I chose to ignore it. Flipping the messaging app open, I began to text back.

Me: Hey Rowan! Glad to hear from you :) How's it going?

Rowan: Fine I guess.

Me: That's good.

Rowan: Yeah.

I stared at the screen, my brows furrowed in confusion. Why had this dude texted me if he wasn't going to say anything? Maybe I needed to prod him a bit.

Me: So what's up?

Rowan: I think I want to take you up on your offer. I don't have any friends here and I don't know anything about this place. Maybe you could show me those cool spots you mentioned or something.

Me: I'd be happy to! What kind of things are you into?

Rowan: I don't know. Maybe just some place quiet.

Me: Do you like coffee?

Rowan: Yeah. It's alright.

Me: Let's start with a cafe then! We can just hang out and chat and get to know one another!

Rowan: Great.

Me: When are you free?

Rowan: Tonight okay? After five?

Me: Sounds perfect! I'll text you the address and meet you there!

Rowan: Cool

Well, he wasn't much of a conversationalist, I'll give him that. And judging by his use of punctuation, he seemed about as excited to hang out with me as a person going to get a flu shot. But I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'd already learned by accident that he was an orphan and probably grew up in the foster system. I couldn't imagine that left people with the greatest of attitudes toward life.

Maybe he just needed someone to show him that life could be fun. I always enjoyed helping people. In fact, if I was being totally honest, I was a fixer. The moment I saw someone in trouble or in need of help, I was there. It had gotten me into trouble several times with guys I tried to date. The problem with dating someone that needed to be fixed was that sometimes they didn't want to be fixed. Then there was butting heads and fighting and it never ended well.

So it was probably a good idea not to try to fix Rowan. Instead, I decided I would take a completely different approach. This time I'd just let him be himself. Sure, I'd do my best to learn what I could about him so I could understand his point of view, but I wouldn't try to cheer him up. I'd just accept him the way he was.

That felt like a very mature decision.

◆◆◆

A couple of hours later I was pulling into the cafe parking lot after work. I spotted Rowan's SUV almost immediately and saw him sitting in the driver's seat staring at his phone. He looked totally out of it, like he was doomscrolling just to pass the time.

I tried to shut my car door loudly in the hopes of getting him to look up. But when he didn't, I walked over and knocked on his window.

I'd never seen a man jump so high in my life. His head nearly went through the roof of his car and his phone went flying. I tried not to, but the look on his face had tears streaming down my face as I doubled over, clutching my belly as I laughed.

"I'm sorry!" I said as he opened the door, still cackling to myself. "I wasn't trying not to scare you."

"It's fine," he grumbled. "I wasn't paying attention."

"You looked like you were zoning out a bit."

"Yeah. Long day."

"Well," I replied, finally straightening up. "Let's get you some coffee and you can tell me all about it."

He paused. "Do they have food here?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Not much variety, but they have sandwiches and stuff."

"That's fine." He glanced away. "I… I'm not much of a cook and I forgot to eat today."

How the hell could someone forget to eat?! That was like my favorite thing to do!

"Uh… do you want to go somewhere with more food choices?"

"No. This is okay."

"Okay. Well let's get you something to eat before you pass out on me."

I gave him a big smile, but he just nodded. It was odd, but I honestly didn't mind that he was grumpy all the time. It was sort of cute, actually. But I stomped that urge down immediately. This was a just friends thing. Besides, I didn't really want to sleep with him, anyway. The moment I did, he'd leave. So this was probably best for both of us.

Leading Rowan inside, I took him up to the counter so he could see the menu board and let him know what their best items were. When he placed his order I was surprised to see him wave me forward and tell me to add my coffee to his order. I tried to deny the kind gesture, but he insisted. Instead of making a scene, I just ordered and decided I'd get his next time we hung out.

It was a short wait to get our drinks and Rowan's sandwich, but by the time we sat down I was practically burning with questions.

"So, why the long day?" I asked, taking a sip of my iced coffee. "Work stuff?"

"Yeah," he nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Boss is an idiot."

"They do that sometimes," I chuckled. "What does yours do?"

"He's a boomer."

"Ah. That explains it. Does he know how to use email?"

"It's the only thing he does know how to use and he uses it to fucking pester me all day long about stupid bullshit."

"Ooh," I grinned. "I like the passion. Keep going."

Rowan waved me off. "It's not important."

I leaned across the table. "Look, I love good work drama. So tell me about it."

"The day's over," he sighed. "I don't want to relive it."

"Totally fair." I took another sip. "My day was pretty blah. Just normal junk."

"What do you do?"

"I work reception at a veterinary clinic," I replied. "It's like being a vet except I just get to pet animals all day and I don't have to do the gross stuff. It doesn't pay much, but it's a fun job. I love seeing all those cute pups all day long."

"Dogs are alright."

"I really like it when people bring in bunnies or snakes or weird pets. That's always fun." I glanced up at him. "So what do you do?"

"Stupid corporate bullshit."

"Ah. Flavor?"

"Software."

"Oh. You must be one of those smart types."

"I'm just a middle manager who hates his life." He paused. "And actually, I'm a fucking idiot."

I furrowed my brows, caught off guard by the ferocity of that last comment. "That's a mean thing to say about yourself. I've only known you for twenty minutes and I can already tell you're not an idiot."

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here," he said flatly.

"I know I shouldn't," I started hesitantly. "But I want to ask…"

Rowan shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I figured from the way you said it." I desperately searched for something else to say. "Uh… so what do you like to do for fun?"

"I don't really have time for fun."

"Are you always this grumpy?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard. "I'm grumpy?"

I raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent.

He let out a long sigh. "I know. Sorry."

"It's alright. I think it's kind of cute." I froze. "Uh… I mean. It's… you know… manly or something."

I caught the faintest hint of a grin curling the edge of his lips and my heart swelled. Just that tiny movement made him so unbelievably attractive at that moment. I knew right then and there that I wanted to make him smile as much as possible.

"It doesn't bother me when you say stuff like that you know," he said. "My best friend is gay. I'm used to it."

"You have a gay best friend?"

"Yeah. Have been since the end of college."

"And you said it's his cabin you're staying at? I wonder if I know him."

"He just inherited the place last year from his dead uncle. It's right on Lake Michigan!"

"Well that's lucky!"

"His uncle died, so maybe not that lucky…"

"Hey," I said, holding my hands up. "Silver lining, right?"

He glared at me for a moment. "Are you always this chipper?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, putting on my best vacant smile as I crossed my eyes. I saw that grin pull at his lips again and my heart soared. "I know. I'm a bit much sometimes."

"No," Rowan replied. "It's okay."

"Just okay?" I tried to act offended. "What a glowing review."

He looked me dead in the eye. "It's kind of… cute."

My heart skipped so hard I thought it had stopped all together. If he kept going the way he was, this man was going to kill me.