The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara

Fifty-Five

I have tears in my eyes. He felt the same way. He actually did.

It wasn’t just me who fell in love that day. It was both of us…

What happened, Max? What changed your mind?

I desperately turn the pages.

June After Midnight

Chapter 29

The phone vibrates. Someone’s calling and it’s not her, so I don’t answer. Let’s not forget this is not my phone. It rings again. Then a text message.

Whoever you are, you have my phone. I want it back.

My brain stops working for a second. It’s three-thirty in the morning. This was bound to happen.

Panic. And no text from Maya.

I decide to stall and play dumb. Who is this?

I’m Daniel Woodward. You have my phone. Who is this?

It rings again and I answer.

“You left your phone in my Lift today,” I say.

“Man, I thought someone stole it. I’m coming. Where are you?”

“It’s the middle of the night. Can’t this wait until the morning?”

“I’ll get you a beer or something. Don’t Lift drivers wake up early anyway?”

“Not this one,” I say.

“Come on, man. My flight back to New York is in a few hours. Just give me an address.”

I groan. He can accuse me of theft if I don’t give it back. I know I have to.

The phone vibrates as I’m giving him the bus stop’s address; it’s a message from Maya.

Sorry it took me a while to answer. I’ve been thinking. I don’t usually do this; I want you to know that. But there’s something about today that’s different—I don’t know what—but I’d love to spend the last few hours of my birthday watching the sunrise… with you. I’ll be there at six.

The worst of timings. Absolute worst. The most perfect day, the most perfect girl and here I am, about to meet her boyfriend to give him back his phone. And this is how it ends.

I could still go and meet her, talk to her. Explain. Ask her to understand. Say that it started as a joke, but it soon turned into something I never expected. Ask her to forgive me.

I keep looking for reasons why I should and why I’d be stupid not to, but a voice is telling me this isn’t right, and it doesn’t make any sense. I could’ve done it earlier, at the fire. Or at dinner. Had so many opportunities, but something held me back. The same something that’s stopping me now. All the signs are pointing me in the opposite direction. That’s why Daniel called now. That’s why she hesitated. Because it’s not meant to be.

I walk on the beach and plan to take a left where it meets Ocean Avenue, when I see something in the sand, in the spot where Maya and I sat earlier today, ate our snacks and drank our juices. Together but separate. It makes me sad thinking I missed the opportunity to get to know her better, to spend this day with her, not just watching her and watching out for her, but looking into her eyes and hearing her voice. I wish I had been bolder. But it’s too late for regrets.

At first, I think I imagine it and get closer. It is Maya. She fell asleep on the beach. I approach as slowly as I can, afraid I will wake her up and then stand there looking at her, wondering what it could’ve been had we met under different circumstances.

Maya moves a bit, and in a panic, I rush away from her and to my meeting point with Daniel—I don’t want to call him her boyfriend because I’m still holding on to the hope.

He calls again; he’ll be here in fifteen minutes. As I sit on the sidewalk waiting, I realize what I’m about to do. I didn’t realize it was going to be this hard. The worst idea I’ve ever had. I delete all my texts with Maya from his phone and check twice to make sure they’re gone.

Daniel shows up in a Lift. Of course!

“Here’s your phone,” I say and hand it to him.

“Thanks, man. This is for your trouble,” he says and hands me a twenty.

I don’t take it. “Thanks, it’s fine.”

“No, no. Take it.”

“I said it’s fine,” I say and push his hand away.

He puts his phone to his ear and listens to something. “Damn, I hate surprises. My woman is here. Did she call when you had my phone?”

I stare. I don’t want to be anywhere near this guy. He makes my stomach turn. I’m about to turn around and leave but this is irking me. “Why string her along?”

“Come on, man. You sound like my mother. You know what I always tell her?”

This should be good.

“Why choose when you can have both? Or all three?” he says and winks and I’m this close to punching him in the face.

“It’s not OK,” I say, trying to calm down. “You should tell her the truth.”

He winks. “Why? You know what they say. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?”

“I don’t know who says that.”

“What’s it to you anyway?”

“I just think she deserves better.”

“Pffft. You don’t even know her. Or me. Mind your own!”

He mutters something under his breath and gets back in the car. What an ass.

June After Midnight

Chapter 30

It’s almost six o’clock and I’m going back to the beach to wait for her.

I have a bad feeling about Daniel. He’ll call her for sure. What if he tells her he didn’t do anything? Will she take him back? Why would she trust me? If he says he wasn’t with someone else, she has no reason to doubt, except for what I told her.

What did I get myself into? I should’ve known better; I’m not a child. This stupid thing I did backfired and now I’m paying the price.

It’s five minutes before six and I see her coming down Scenic Road and my heart is in my throat. I’m at one end of the street and she’s at the other and we’re both walking, not toward each other, but toward the bench.

She didn’t leave. And more importantly, she didn’t leave with him. She’s still here and she’s coming to meet me. I wished for it to happen, but I still can’t believe it. I feel like pinching myself.

She’s getting closer. I’ll just go to her and tell her who I am. Ask her to stay. At least for one more day. Or more. Why would she go back? She said there’s nothing left for her in New York.

I take a few deep breaths, trying to find the courage to do this absolutely crazy thing.

One step closer.

I will do it. I don’t want to regret not being brave enough. What I’ve felt for her in these last twenty-four hours, I’ve never felt for anyone.

I stop. My heart is pounding like crazy. I feel it in my throat. I’ll just go and talk to her. How hard can it be? I don’t want to rehearse it. Just be natural. Me.

One more step.

I don’t hear the car, and I see it at the last possible minute. It’s a Lift, the same one from earlier. He’s here. Daniel gets out and he doesn’t seem to notice me or if he does, there’s no shred of recognition in his eyes.

I was wrong. I was so wrong. They didn’t break up. He came to get her.

That heart-thumping leads to my temples thumping and a slight queasiness.

He walks over to Maya and hugs her, and I know I should be looking elsewhere, I shouldn’t do this to myself, but I do.

Don’t kiss him. Just don’t kiss him. It’s crazy and it happened fast, but these are not feelings you can ignore. I can’t. Push him away. Choose me.

I close my eyes for a moment and when I open them, I see them kissing and now the queasiness is all I feel. I’m frozen in place, staring at them.

I feel so ridiculous, betrayed and walked all over like a used carpet. Was this all just a game to her? A game I joined willingly, like the fool I am. She saw an opportunity to kill time and not be alone on her birthday, and she took it. Who’s to blame for believing it was more than that? Who made this day happen? Who pushed boundaries? Who wanted more? Me. It’s my fault.

I can’t believe I let myself be swept up in this impossible fantasy. I allowed myself to hope and dream ridiculous, unrealistic things. It was nothing but a fleeting moment to her. How ironic that of all the things I’ve been through, this one managed to crush me in ways I didn’t even know were possible. No face, no name, no number. No importance. That’s me to her.

I walk away, head down, heart in pieces and that ridiculous song from the Nineties keeps popping in my head. Shut up! Now I’ll never be able to listen to it ever again without remembering this moment.