Dougie

Dougie stared down at the text from Chance. He supposed he was glad Chance had sent it, but what was he supposed to do about it? She hadn’t reached out to him, which told him she didn’t want to talk to him, and he certainly couldn’t leave the academy in hopes she would want to pursue something with him if he were back in Courage.

“Hey, you okay?” Ryan asked, sitting down beside him. He pulled the sandwich off the tray and began unwrapping it. Lunch was one of the few breaks they got during the day and the only time Dougie could check his phone until classes ended for the day.

Dougie glanced up at Ryan. He had been right about Ryan and the others. Though not Chance and Israel, they were fun and kind men, and he was able to form friendships with them over the last few days. “I don’t know. There was this girl back in Courage—”

Ryan’s eyes widened. “You left a girl? How come you didn’t say anything before?”

Dougie shook his head. “It’s not like that. We weren’t together. I wanted to be with her, but she was seeing this other guy, a real piece of work. Before I left, I found out he was cheating on her and I told her. She wouldn’t hear it and told me to get out of her life.”

Ryan let out a low whistle. “Ouch, that’s tough, man, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I was too. They were engaged at the time, and I figured she’d end up marrying him, but I just got a text from my former boss that not only did she break it off, but she came looking for me at my old job.”

“That’s good news then, right?” Ryan took a bite of his sandwich and grimaced. The food might be free, but it certainly wasn’t going to win any awards.

“I don’t know. She hasn’t reached out yet, so while I’m glad she broke it off with him, it sounds like she’s still angry with me or something. Although I don’t know why she’d go looking for me if she was angry.”

“Maybe to apologize?” Ryan offered, wiping a stray smear of mustard from his chin.

“But then why not call me? Even if she doesn’t have my number, Chance and Merribeth do. She could get a hold of me if she really wanted to.”

“Well, did you tell her you were moving here?”

Dougie hung his head. Leaving the way he had made sense at the time, but it sure seemed cowardly now. “I didn’t say goodbye, but to be fair, she was mad at me when I moved, but her best friend is married to my former boss, so if she wanted to know where I went, she could easily find out.”

“Yeah, but if you didn’t say goodbye, maybe she thinks you’re mad at her. Or maybe she thinks you left to become a cop because of her and therefore if she reaches out to you, she’ll derail you from your dream. I know it’s crazy, but, in my limited experience, women are crazy. You might have to reach out to her.”

“I don’t know. Contacting her without hearing from her that she’d broken it off with the guy just seems desperate.” Dougie pushed his pasta around on his plate. It was a good thing he was no longer hungry because it had taken on a congealed consistency that was no longer appealing, not that it had been in the first place.

“But she knows that your former boss keeps in touch with you, right?”

Dougie shrugged. “I have no idea, but I would assume Chance talks to Merribeth and she talks to Holly.”

Ryan laughed and shook his head. “Man, you sound like high school again. Tell John to tell Jill to tell Jo that I like her. I hated that stuff.”

To be fair, Dougie did too, but he felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place with this situation.

“Look,” Ryan continued, “if she knows he keeps in touch with you then I guarantee she assumes he told you she’s single again. She’s probably waiting around to hear from you. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s the way women are. They like to make us work for them.”

Dougie didn’t know if Ryan was right, but even if he was, he wasn’t sure he wanted to work for Holly’s attention. He still cared for her, but he’d put his heart out there once and she’d broken it. He didn’t know if he was ready to do it again.

“Come on,” Ryan said, pushing his chair back and wadding his trash. “We’ve got to get back to class. You can tell me all about this girl on our next break.”

Tags: Lorana Hoopes Romance
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