Chapter Text
“Oh my, God.”
“Annie, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no. Don’t do that, Jeff. I want this.”
“Yeah?”
“I still need some time to process. But yes. What about you?”
“Ok, well, I guess I do, too.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the one that is good with words?”
“I don’t have the right words … for this.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this, then. Until we’re ready.”
“You might be right. You’re really ok with that?”
“I can’t change that it happened.”
“Do you wish it hadn’t?”
“I don’t know. There’s still a part of me that wishes I could live two lives. One where it happened this way and one where it didn’t.”
“Does the one where it did happen this way end with me on a website that people look at before they decide to buy a home?”
“I’m an adult, Jeff. Geez.”
“That makes one of us.”
“You’ll get there eventually. All you need is a little help.”
“That’s simultaneously comforting and condescending, coming from you.”
“Age is just a number.”
“Said the woman who has a lower one than my own and more time to figure out her life.”
“It’s entirely possible that I already have it figured out.”
“That doesn’t help the person with the bigger number, who doesn’t.”
“I’d say those extra years helped you hone a few very important skills.”
“Stop, that.”
“What?”
“That, right there. I can’t resist you when you do that.”
“I don’t want you to resist me, Jeff.”
“Can I get that in writing?”
“Always playing a lawyer.”
“It’s the only thing I know how to do. Besides, I may need to defend myself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I think you’ve proven that you’re more than a fake lawyer.”
“Just the same, I’d rather the evidence not land me in a court of law.”
“Well, it will have to be our secret, then.”
“Yup, it’s our secret. For now.”