Page 4 of How the Other Half Lives

“All right, man. What’s up with you?” James asked.

I didn’t look up from where I was scrolling through my phone, looking at text messages, as if the messaging app had malfunctioned. Perhaps I had turned off notifications somehow and I had to actually click into Vance’s name to see if there were any new messages.

There were not.

Not since yesterday.

He’d been quiet since our dinner Thursday night. It wasn’t like him.

James, my friend from our childhood days, reached over and grabbed my phone. He put it facedown on the table.

“Alright, man, you’re not usually one to check your phone that often while we have lunch. Something going on. You checked your phone in the middle of our pickup game today. You kept your phone in your bag instead of in your car.”

The two of us tried to get together a few times a month for pickup games and lunch. Today was one of those days. I could always count on James’s easy friendship. I did not expect his growing interest in my love life. Or non-existent love life.

“I didn’t know you were so observant,” I said, hoping to put the kibosh on this discussion.

James wasn’t going to let up, though. He leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited. He was a high school teacher, so he probably could outwait me, having dealt with emotionally charged teenagers regularly. I squirmed under his gaze.

“I’ve sort of been seeing someone.”

His brow raised. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s just casual, though.” Even saying the words twisted my stomach. It hadn’t felt casual for a long time. “But he hasn’t texted me much the past few days.”

“Much or not at all?”

“He texted me yesterday and said that he was busy with work.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a lawyer.” A hotshot lawyer, I assumed. He had to make tons of money to live where he did. Many of the other residents in that complex were investors, celebrities, and doctors.

James raised a brow and let out a long whistle. “Fancy. Getting to see how the other half lives.”

I rolled my eyes. I saw how the other half lived every day of my life. “Yeah, I know. He’s a bit out of my league.”

“How’d you meet?”

This was the part that I hated. It sounded weird, cliche. “He lives in the apartment complex I work at.”

“No shit? Sounds like the great start to a porn. Did you come over to fix a leaky faucet and then offer to inspect his pipes?”

My face burned. I grabbed my water glass, hoping to keep it in front of my face while I drank so he couldn’t see.

“Oh shit, man. I was kidding. Is that really what happened?”

“No. Nobody offered to fix anyone’s pipes. But I did go there for a leaky faucet.”

He let out a long laugh. “When was this? How come you haven’t said anything?”

“Two months ago. Maybe three? I don’t know.”

“And you kept seeing each other? Damn, you must like him.”

“It’s…” Fuck, if I couldn’t be honest with my best friend, who could I be honest with? It was about time I quit lying to myself about how I felt about Vance. I was going to come unglued if I didn’t figure out what the hell had happened to make him quit talking with me like he usually did. “It was just casual, but it started to feel like maybe something more. Thursday he took me out to dinner. His friend was opening a new restaurant.” I said the name, and James’s eyes went wide.

“Dude, that place has a waitlist all the way out till next year. I thought about trying to take Nancy for our anniversary. Fuck that. The prices aren’t even on the menu, which damn sure means I can’t afford it.”

I suspected the place was beyond expensive. I hadn’t looked when the check had come, and Vance had taken care of it. “Vance is one of the partners at his law firm.”

“Oh damn. Bagged yourself a sugar daddy.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like that. That was actually the first time we went out to dinner. Usually we just order in.” We took turns paying—I made sure of it. Sometimes I made food at my apartment and brought it to him, other times he cooked.

“Okay. So it started off casual, and now you’re thinking you want something more but he’s giving you the brush-off? That’s shitty.”

“I don’t know. We ran into a friend of his, and he called me his boyfriend. And I teased him about it, and now he’s not talking to me. Maybe he realized he’s way better than me.” Hearing the word “boyfriend” come out of Vance’s mouth had surprised me. I both felt too old to be referred to that way, but also incredibly excited to be considered his. Only, it had to be just because he didn’t want to explain who I really was to his friends. I was so far out of his league, we weren’t even playing the same sport

“Whoa. Time out. So he introduced you as his boyfriend and you indicated that maybe you didn’t have that same sentiment, and now he’s not talking to you as much. Sounds to me like you hurt his feelings. Maybe he thought you were more serious than you do and now he’s backtracking. Did you guys talk about whether or not you’re exclusive or whatever?”

My brow furrowed. “No. Like I said, it was just casual.”

“And now you miss him?”

I groaned. “Yes.” Fuck, talking about feelings was the worst. My skin felt too tight, and my chest ached the longer I went without hearing from him. If he was so busy with work, did he need anything? I could bring him dinner or a coffee, or I could just… I don’t know what.

“Well, what have you said to him in the past few days? Have you asked him what’s wrong and if there is something you might have done? Have you told him how you feel?”

“No.” I was really beginning to dislike this conversation. James approached me with logic and solutions, when all I wanted was to wallow in my self-pity at having lost something I never had.

“So you just want communication to happen organically or you think the stars are going to align and you’re just going to be able to read his mind? You want a relationship then you got to work for it, dude.”

“I don’t.” Did I? I never wanted one before, but that was before meeting Vance. Things with him were just so easy. We liked the same food, the same books, we played chess for hours on Saturday mornings.

“Then what’s the problem? Take the out and go find someone new.”

That made my stomach twist. “I mean, I do… I… “

“You have no idea what you want.”

I glared at my friend. “I want to go back to the way things were when he would text me good morning and we’d make dinner plans and we’d hang out and we’d have fun and we’d watch the game, play chess, and talk about books we liked. I want to call him as soon as I get off work to talk about our day.”

“You want to date him. Because that sounds an awful lot like having a boyfriend.”

“Yeah. I guess I want a boyfriend. I’m supposed to go over there for dinner tonight. We didn’t really confirm, but he invited me last week. Should I just go over there?”

“Why don’t you pick up your phone that you keep staring at and call him?”

“I did. Yesterday. He didn’t answer, and that’s when he said he was busy with work. Some new case or something. He usually sends me a good-morning text message every day and he hasn’t been doing that.”

“Dude did that every day and you didn’t realize you were dating?” James’s eyes twinkled with laughter, and he seemed to be barely containing it.

“Fuck off,” I said.

James let out a hearty laugh. “Hey, it’s good to know that you got these relationship snafus just like the rest of us. Seriously, man. I have noticed the past few weeks you seemed a little happier. You didn’t mention that you were seeing anyone, you’re always pretty tight-lipped about your relationships. But this Vance guy might be good for you.”

“Too good for me.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t—”

“I’m a handyman at his apartment complex. Those apartments cost more than what I make in a year, and he owns one.”

“So? Has he looked down at you at all? Is he ashamed to hang out with you? Ashamed to introduce you to his friends?”

“No,” I said. Vance would never.

“Then what are you so hung up about?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t see how it can work.”

“It has been working. You worrying about it working is what’s making it not work. “Put yourself out of this misery and go talk to him. In person. Figure this shit out. Then you’ll have your answer.”