Josh hung up after the fifth ring. Riley wasn’t kidding when she said she barely answered the phone. He waited a couple of days to call, not wanting to seem desperate, with no response. Not knowing her schedule, he tried different times of the day, figuring he would have to catch her at some point. After two weeks of trying, he was starting to believe he was avoiding her. 

He sighed as he stared at the phone. It would be easy enough to look up her address, but he thought that really would be desperate. She was hesitant to give him her number, so showing up at her door unannounced probably wasn’t the right answer. Right?

His ex had left him a couple of texts, suggesting she was looking for some side action or some sort of benefit of maintaining a relationship with him. Josh wasn’t boyfriend or husband material, but he was a nice guy, and she enjoyed his company. He understood her, she said. In reality, he didn’t understand her at all, but he did know when someone was playing games.

 His fingers refused to respond to the texts, but they also refused to delete her number. It was the last step to the conclusion of a part of his life he was happy with, and he wasn’t ready to take it yet. A ring from the phone broke the stirring of his mind. He picked it up with some hesitation.

“Hello?”

“Josh? It’s Riley.”

Her voice was soft and shy, making his heart thump against his chest.

“Oh! Hey, how are you?”

“Good...good...you?”

“Wonderful.”

The silence was so thick between them, Josh thought maybe something happened to the phone.

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to call back,” Riley finally said.

“It’s ok, you said you were busy.”

“I didn’t think you would try so hard,” She blurted out. “I thought you would give up.”

“Is that what you wanted?”

“Yes. No, no it’s not what I wanted. It’s...just complicated.” Her voice cracked.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated,” Josh responded calmly. “You don’t have to tell me anything, but I would like to get to know you better.”

“You won’t like me when you see the real me.”

“Shouldn’t that be for me to decide?”

The killing silence returned. He thought he might have heard her wiping her nose. Maybe he was too harsh, but then again, he didn’t understand why she was upset.

“Have you killed someone?” Josh asked.

“What? Of course not.”

“Large-scale theft? Kicked a dog? Enjoying brussel sprouts?”

“No! Wait, why brussel sprouts?”

“It’s the worse things I could think off to eat.”

Riley laughed. “I like brussel sprouts.”

“See, I learned something about you, and it wasn’t complicated.”

“Something like that doesn’t matter.”

“What you like matters. Now, will you go to a movie with me?” Josh asked.

“Like a date?”

“Woah, that sounds like it’s complicated. How about like just going to a movie?”

Riley chuckled softly. “Ok. I can do that.”

They set a time to go on Saturday evening and hung up the phone. Butterflies soared in Josh’s stomach. He had only had brief interactions with Riley, but her smile and goofy demeanor captivated him. Josh marked his calendar, it would be a long four days of waiting.

***

“You’re going on a date?!” Dave loudly whispered.

“It’s just a movie,” Josh corrected.

A few of the teachers gave sideways glances to the men sitting a the table. The teacher's lounge always had a few people in it, but today it was busier than usual due to an assembly. Everyone wanted to take advantage of the quiet time.

“It definitely a date. You’re not supposed to date a rebound,” Dave scolded. “You just hit it, quit it, probably regret it, and move on.”

“Or I could not do it have no regrets.”

“There’s a lot more regret in breaking your own heart again in such a short amount of time.”

Josh’s phone dinged. It was his ex again. His plan to ignore her wasn’t working, if anything, it was encouraging her. Dave snatched up the device, rolling his eyes.

“You haven’t even completely got rid of one woman, and you're going after another? One who seems much less reliable by the way. Who doesn’t have a cell phone and doesn’t answer their landline? That’s suspicious if you ask me.”

“She said she’s busy.”

“Everyone makes times for their cell phones, no matter how busy they are.”

“She doesn’t want to be attached to electronics.”

Another eye roll from Dave. “Yeah because she’s too bust attaching herself to another guys-”

“Come on Dave, just be happy for me you cynical prick.”

“Alright Alright, just be careful huh?”

A goofy smile bloomed on Josh’s face. “I will, but it’s nice to be able to move on.”

“Less than a month and you’re totally free of your feelings? You know that’s not true, not while you are keeping her number in your phone.”

“That’s a good point,” Josh said. He didn’t think as the screen asked him if he was sure he wanted to delete the contact. Staring at the spot where the name used to be, he thought he would feel something, but nothing came. Dave was just dramatic, he barely thought of his ex these days. He was over her. He knew it.