Settling behind my desk, I ignored the pile of work waiting for me. There was no way I could focus knowing I had a reason to call Nate.

Leaning back in my chair, I listened to the phone ring and hoped he wasn't too busy to answer.

"Hi, Joby." Nate sounded upbeat as usual, making me smile.

"Hello. How's your day going?"

"Okay. I'm on my lunch break now, chatting with you, so this is the highlight so far. How about your day?"

"I just had lunch with my family."

"Oh, yeah! How did it go?"

"Much better than expected, actually." Taking a deep breath, I enjoyed the feeling of relief all over again. "I'd braced for something awful. I think I exhausted myself worrying about it."

Nate's warm chuckle sent a chill over my nape. "That's awesome! I know Liv was nervous too. I'm glad to hear it went well."

"Speaking of Liv, she's my reason for calling. She—"

"Oh." Nate sighed. "And here I was thinking you called just for me."

Something twisted in my stomach at the sound of his disappointment. "I did. Of course. I was excited for a reason to call—"

"I was just kidding! Relax." He laughed. "For future reference though, you don't need a reason."

The feeling I now realized was panic, drifted away with the sound of his laughter and the knowledge that he wanted to hear from me. "Well, you don't either."

"Good." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Now, why did Liv want you to call?"

"She and Laurel do something for New Year's Eve every year, and she invited us. Actually, it's not much of an invitation since they don't have a plan. Liv, Laurel, Andre, and you and I, if you'd like to go, would do something yet to be determined."

"TBD plans, sounds perfect. I'm sure with that group, we'll have fun wherever we end up."

"Great!" My heart raced knowing I'd be spending the next evening with Nate.

"You know, I was supposed to plan our next date, though. It was my turn."

"That's okay." I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. Who planned the date made no difference to me. As long as it involved time with Nate, I was thrilled.

"I'll get the next one then."

"Now, that's a plan." I grinned at the mention of a third date, loving the way Nate spoke of our future as though it were a given.

Someone on his end of the line spoke in the background, and Nate said, "Okay, thanks. I'll be right there." He groaned quietly. "I have to go. My next patient's here and my lunch ended a minute ago."

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to keep you."

"You didn't. I knew Terri would let me know when they arrived, and I was enjoying our chat."

"Me too." I glanced at my watch and saw I needed to get to the front desk. It was almost time for check in and that meant a rush of guests I should oversee. Plus one of Mr Harrison's friends was supposed to be arriving with his wife and they'd no doubt require special attention. "Can I call you tonight if Liv and Laurel have a plan worked out?"

"You can call me even if they don't."

My pulse quickened, making me shake my head at myself. When did I become so excitable? "Wonderful. I'll talk to you later, then."

"Bye, Joby."

He hung up, and I sat there marveling at the way my name in his voice made me wish he was near. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

***

Time had never moved as slowly as it had since I hung up with Nate, but finally, seven hours later, I was on my couch, listening to the sound of his phone ringing again.

"Hello." He answered, exhaustion filling his tone.

"Hey. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine." He let out a slow breath as the sound of a can popping open preceded liquid pouring into a glass.

"Rough day? Sounds like time for a beer."

"What? Oh." He chuckled. "No. It's just a blackberry bubbly water. Work was a downward spiral after we spoke, though. One of the physical therapists I work with, the only other one working today, got sick after lunch and had to leave."

"Oh, no. I hope it's nothing contagious."

He scoffed. "I'm pretty sure she was pretending to be sick to go shopping for a big date she has tomorrow and get her nails done, so no, I don't think I'll catch it. I did, however, catch all of her afternoon patients who had to be squeezed between my own patients."

"That seems like a lot. Couldn't any of them reschedule?"

"They were given the option, but because it was such late notice, the office manager wanted any who came to be seen. I think one switched to next week. The rest decided they'd rather wait five times as long before doing their uncomfortable physical therapy, so they could take out their crabbiness on the guy who didn't flake on work."

"I'm so sorry. That sounds awful."

"It wasn't fun." He sipped his drink. "Terri's a sweetheart. She tried to help, but she's front office, not PT, so there was only so much she could do. Our day that should've ended at five went until almost seven thirty."

My neck heated, and I realized I was angry on his behalf. "That isn't fair. A business can't expect to be at its best if it's running its employees into the ground. I hope you'll at least be paid overtime for that. "

"Not likely, but I appreciate the outrage." He released a deep breath. "Oh, well. Enough negativity. How was your day?"

"It was fine, nothing exciting. I haven't heard from Liv, but she and Laurel had a double date planned for tonight, so she may still be out. Do you want me to see if they've made plans for us yet?"

"Nah. I'm fine with finding out tomorrow. All I know is I'm not working. That means I can sleep in and go for a run before whatever we end up doing tomorrow night." He yawned loudly, and said a muffled, "Excuse me."

"You're fine. I should let you go though so you can get some rest."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I am tired. I'm not usually boring quite so early."

I laughed. "You're never boring, but everyone needs sleep. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night, whatever we do."

"Me too. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Bye, Nate."

"Bye, Joby." The smile was back in his voice, making me think maybe he liked hearing me say his name the way I liked hearing him say mine.

Thoughts of tomorrow swirled in my head, and I knew sleep wouldn't come easy. New Year's Eve was no time to show up tired. I needed to relax. Flipping the rarely used television on, I scanned the channels until I found a nature documentary with a soothing narrator, and hoped she'd help me unwind.

Thanks for reading! 💜