11
PATRICK
Walking away from Goldie was nearly impossible. Both before lunch and after. But I knew waiting would only make things better. I wanted to do things right with her. That didn’t mean pretending I didn’t know exactly what she was doing or teasing her a little. But it did mean taking care of her in other ways, too.
The rest of the day was painfully slow. I expected it, but when I looked at my phone and it was finally time to leave, I nearly cried with relief. It was less than two hours until our date.
I stopped by Goldie’s office on my way out. She was staring at the computer like it held all the answers to the world.
“You heading out soon?”
She jumped at my voice and straightened up. She forced a smile. I hated when she forced anything with me. I wanted her to be herself.
“
