Chase: Hey. I know it’s late, but can I call you?

I oddly find my hands shaking as I unlock my phone. Since only a few seconds have passed since I received his message, my phone automatically opens it up. I try to decide if responding right now would make me seem desperate. Even with this in mind, I just can’t wait. It seems as if my patience has disappeared.

Me: Yeah, sure. J  Ready when you are.

Chase: Smiley faces, ABC? You seem desperate…

With a sigh, I respond, It is unfortunate that I don’t have any “eye rolling” emoticons.

Chase: Ha.

I hover my finger over the empty box where I plan to type my response. But when I’m ready to click it, I mistakenly click the button that appears on my screen right then to answer the incoming call.

“Hey.” I attempt to mask my feelings with a calm, cool tone. I can’t quite tell how it’s working out for me.

“Hi.”

Maybe throwing in a joke will ease this discomfort. “I liked your peace offering.” In response, Chase releases a soft laugh, which affects me viscerally. The only difference now is that I’ve actually admitted it.

“Good, I’m glad,” he replies. “And I liked your letter. I just don’t understand why…. Or how, rather…” He sighs heavily.

“Yeah?”

“Never mind. But, anyway… Can we call this a truce?”

Smiling, I nod, so lost in this feeling of elation that the fact that he can’t see me doesn’t register in my mind until a second later. “Yeah, we’re cool.”

After a period of silence, Chase’s smiling voice returns. “Awesome.”