Chapter 254: 5:42 PM
By late afternoon, nervousness had returned in full force as he waited outside Haley's workplace.
Not panic.
Not dread.
Anticipation.
The kind that made time move strangely.
Gael checked the clock for what had to be the tenth time before finally giving up pretending he could focus on anything else.
5:42 PM.
Then his phone buzzed again.
Haley.
His pulse jumped immediately.
haley: hypothetical question
A smile tugged at his mouth already.
gael: dangerous start
Three dots appeared instantly.
haley: if someone was maybe nervous about seeing someone again after work
Then another message:
haley: should they admit that or maintain psychological mystery
He laughed softly under his breath.
God, he missed this.
gael: mystery is overrated
Long pause.
Then:
haley: okay well hypothetical person is nervous
The honesty in it warmed something deep in his chest immediately.
Not because she was anxious.
Because she trusted him enough to admit it.
Then he replied carefully.
gael: hypothetical person should know the other person is nervous too
This time her answer came quickly.
haley: good
Simple word.
Still intimate somehow.
Then another:
haley: if you show up overconfident i'm leaving dramatically
gael: understood
A final message appeared before the typing bubble vanished:
haley: okay see you in a minute
Gael stared at the screen for a second longer before locking the phone and looking at her workplace intensely.
And somewhere inside the building, Haley was probably checking the clock too often now as well.