The Saga of Steve and Joey-Part 4

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their December. I have been sooo busy with my personal life and as a result my writing as suffered. I will be going back to editing work on Thursday and I will, hopefully, update everyone then. For now, I have Part 4 of The Saga of Steve and Joey. Enjoy!

Part 4

Steve

I stare at the phone in my hand, the screen glowing in the low light. I want to call Joey, but I made such an idiot of myself on our first date. I know he didn’t seem to mind, but I did. How stupid was I almost falling asleep like that?

At the time, I was much too tired to care. But the way that he drove me home and let me get more sleep rather than try anything X-rated. It made me feel bad that our date ended like that.

But I’m getting another chance. He’s given me his number. I have to go back to work tomorrow, but for right now, I’m well-rested and feeling good. I have time to chat. All I have to do is hit the damned call button.

I move my finger so it’s hovering over the button, but somehow I just can’t get the balls to lower my finger to the screen. I don’t know why. What the hell am I so nervous about? Joey seemed like a perfectly normal guy. Not insane, good sense of humor, hot body. What more could I possibly ask for in a man?

So why aren’t I calling him? Am I really that scared? It has been a long time since I had a real boyfriend. Before medical school.

Actually, if I am really honest with myself, I’ve never had a boyfriend. I was always too focused on me, trying to get the best grades and working my ass off to make sure I could get into the best college and then the best med school. Sure, there were boyfriends in my past, but nothing all that serious. Just someone I could take to parties and have some extracurricular activities with. I’ve never really had someone who could be considered a life partner. Is that what’s freaking me out? The prospect of having someone I could share my life with. It is a huge step. But with med school, was I really ready for all of that?

I bite my lip as I stare at the screen again. I hover my finger about the little green telephone symbol that would connect me to Joey. And before I can change my mind, I press my finger to the screen.

I hold my breath as the phone starts to ring. I’m torn between hoping and dreading him picking up the phone. Nevertheless, I start planning out what I’m going to say when the voicemail picks up.

“Hello?”

“Uh,” I say awkwardly as I’m caught off-guard by the sound of his voice.

“Hello?”

“Joey?” Yeah, that’s very smooth. Who else would it be? It’s his phone. Geez, I’m so stupid.

“Yeah. Who is this?”

“Uh…this is Steve. From the other night.”

“Oh,” Joey replies with a good amount of happiness. “I was wondering when you were going to call.”

“Yeah. Well, I had to catch up on my sleep,” I reply with a relatively smooth voice. Smoother than I would have thought possible, given how nervous I am.

“Yeah, I would agree with that.”

“So what’s been going on?”

And that is just the beginning. The two of us talk for three hours, chatting about everything we didn’t cover over our dinner date. Any hesitation I had during that dinner slowly fades away as we laugh over movies that we loved as kids and books we love now. The man is a total nerd with a propensity for happy endings. It made for some eclectic tastes and interesting conversations.

At the end of the longest conversation ever, Joey explains his need to go to work tomorrow. We say our goodbyes, which still involves a lot of laughing and joking. We even agree to meet again next week.

As I lower the phone and disconnecte the call, I have a smile on my face so wide my face hurts. I may have been nervous at the beginning, but now all of my fears have been put to rest. Being with Joey, regardless of how experienced I am with relationships or how busy I am, is something so natural. I can even feel the first stirrings of what might be considered love. That is a huge leap for me, but there is just something about him. We click and there is no other way to describe it.

We have our date next week and we’ll see what happens from there on. But the good news is, I don’t think I have to fear calling him ever again.  

And there is Part 4! I hope you enjoyed it.

So next week is December 23^rd, and in observance of the holidays, we are talking a break from Steve and Joey’s story at this point in their relationship. We will be jumping farther ahead in the timeline to see what their first Christmas with Aiden. I probably won’t have a story on December 30^th, because of the holiday, so look for Part 5 on January 6^th! Stay tuned!