Page 28 of The Long Way Found

This time, he didn't wait by it. He still wasn’t playing games, but he was using boundaries as a shield.

JACK

He'd thought about texting Luke during dinner at the lodge restaurant. But he chose to enjoy the roast beef stew and a generously poured Scotch, letting the day's tension ease from his shoulders.

Around eight-thirty, he pulled out his phone and saw Luke's message from seven-thirty.

"That was amazing."

Jack stared at it.

Yeah, it was, he thought. But what do I say to that?

He typed: "Thanks, you too."

Deleted it. Even Jack recognized that would be too dismissive.

Typed: "I had a great time."

He stared. It sounded like a job interview.

He set the phone down and finished his Scotch. An hour wasn't that long, right? People got busy. Had meetings. Didn't hover over their phones day and night.

But by nine, he couldn’t bear the weight of the phone in his pocket anymore.

Luke had put himself out there. Jack had made him wait.

Don't be a dick, he told himself.

He picked up the phone and typed: "Hi, sorry, just seeing this. Long day, but good. How are you?"

Hit send before he could overthink it.

Then he waited.

And waited.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen.

This was ridiculous. He'd responded. The ball was in Luke's court now.

Except it had been in Jack's court for an hour and a half, and he'd dropped it.

And now Luke wasn't responding, and the resistance was frustrating Jack even more.

Maybe he's busy, Jack told himself. Maybe he's at the gym. Maybe he put his phone down like a normal person.

At nine-forty-five, his phone finally buzzed.

Luke: "All good here. Glad your first day went well. Talk soon?"

Jack stared at the message.

“Talk soon?”

That was it after forty-five minutes?

He typed: "Sounds good” and sent it.