“No, I mean, I should sleep, but I just got home.”
“Big night out?”
“Not really. Hattie and I get together every Wednesday to solve all the world’s problems over drinks. She’s a terrible influence because I always end up out too late and I end up drinking too much.”
“I have friends like that, too.”
“How’s your trip?”
“Fine, I guess.”
“That good, huh?”
“I may sound like a complete dick, but this much extended time with my parents is never good. My family is... complicated, to say the least, and every time I get sucked into some dumb shit for my father’s business, I spend more time pissed off than enjoying myself.”
“Well, I can’t relate to the parents bit because I never had any, but I definitely have a complicated family situation right now.”
“You said you just met your brothers, right?”
“Yep, I have a cousin who tracked me down and figured it all out. Then he introduced me to Micah, who introduced me to Luca.”
“Your cousin tracked you down? How?”
“That’s a story for another day. He’s an interesting character. But he found me and I’m grateful for that.”
“So, who did you grow up with?”
“I was a foster kid until I was eighteen. The family I was with wasn’t really a family, if that makes any sense. More like people who just kept me alive. Then I was sent off to college in Italy. I stayed for a while but decided I wanted to come back to the States and see if I could track down my parents when I was eighteen. That didn’t work out either.”
Ozzie was quiet on the other line. “I know it all sounds pretty shitty when I tell people,” she added with a small laugh.
“I um... sorry, I was just trying to figure out what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. It was a long time ago. How did we get on such a depressing topic so quickly?”
Ozzie laughed, “I have no idea, but I’m not mad about it. I enjoy hearing about you.”
“Now I don’t know what to say,” Sofia added with a nervous laugh.
“That’s a first!”
“Hey! No making fun of my nervous rambling.”
“I’d never make fun of it, honestly, I think it’s adorable.”
Sofia wanted to jump up in down in excitement. She had never met a man who was so honest about things, and it was refreshing. Ever since his first text the day after they met, she knew he was different from other guys. Most would have waited a few days, made her wonder if she would hear from them again, but not Ozzie. He set the precedent of how things would work between the two of them early on and she was happy that was the case.
“Tell me something about you?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, something no one knows.”
“That’s a tough one. I’m pretty much an open book. Hmmm.. I do have one thing. Okay, you can’t make fun of me for admitting this, though. Promise.”
“I promise.”
“I love to surf, but I’m terrified of the ocean.”