My trek around the house to the garage was the longest walk of my life. I couldn’t breathe. It was eerily similar to how I felt the previous night. Would he be different with me? Regretful? Act like it never happened? Kiss me again?

I crossed my fingers for the third kiss. Which was why I brushed twice, flossed, and rinsed with mouthwash for a full minute. Just as I rounded the corner to an empty driveway, my phone chimed.

Fisher: You’re with Hailey today. Had to go out of town to pick up some things.

Not even a “good morning.” No XO. And not a single emoji. Did he not know how to use emojis? It was the most emotionless, lackluster text ever. It wasn’t the text you sent someone you’d kissed.

I typed my reply a dozen times and erased all of them. My drafts contained words like “good morning” and emojis. Hearts and kisses. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe it was another cruel lesson.

Reese: OK

As heartbroken as I was to be just as emotionless, I felt a sense of pride and maybe even a sense of maturity for keeping it professional. When I got to the office with my burning tongue (a minute of swishing mouthwash was a lot), Hailey greeted me with her usual bubbly smile and a stack of things to sort through. I got the feeling nothing had been sorted until Fisher hired me.

“Is it the weekend yet? Why did Monday feel like the longest day ever? It should be Thursday not Tuesday.”

“Mondays aren’t always bad.” I shrugged, depositing my backpack on the floor and grabbing coffee.

“Are you …” She tilted her head. “Blushing?”

“No.” I dipped my chin and dove into the messy piles of papers.

“You are. Did you have a hot date last night? A Monday date?”

“No.” I laughed like it was ridiculous. “No date.”

“Okay then. I noticed you left the party early. But so did Bossman and his new girlfriend. She was all over him. I imagine he had quite the Friday night. Was he in a good mood yesterday morning?”

“Um …” I tried to sound as aloof as possible. “Yeah, he seemed fine.”

“Did he mention her? Is it serious? This time of year, I only get to see him for a few seconds a day, at the most. He’s always on the go and constantly running thirty minutes behind.”

“He didn’t mention her. I don’t think it’s serious, but I’m not really sure.”

“Why do you think it’s not serious? Did he say something?”

“No. Just a feeling. I’m not sure. Maybe guys don’t say much even if they do have serious feelings about someone. Like … they probably don’t send gushing texts or use a bunch of emojis.”